Two Tailed Angel
by RaineJoybringer
Summary: Mitsukai Kita, the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi no Nekomata has a destiny to avoid. But can a person prevent death when they're so closely linked to it? Readers, please look at the notice for information.
1. Flawed Sealing

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Thank you for choosing to read _Two Tailed Angel_. I hope you will enjoy this story. I put a lot of research into it to be able to bring it to you. At the end of the story, you will find some extra notes concerning the story. When you're done, please leave a review. Criticism is welcome, so if I have made any mistakes, please tell me so that I may improve upon them. Now let's get started, shall we? For once I wrote a nice, long opening chapter.

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**_Chapter 1: Flawed Sealing _**

Once long ago there lived a great beast with two tails. The beast was not powerful like its brethren were, but it was the most feared. This beast walked the earth breathing death upon all those who came upon it. It was thought to be the Shinigami's, the God of Death's, very own pet. Whenever the beast flicked its two tails, humans would flee screaming from its presence because of the sights it caused.

The great beast's name was Nekomata, the Nibi cat.

In the Earth Country, the people rose up against the great beast, sending their best shinobi to battle it. Among those sent was a great man known as the Tsuchikage. He was the first ruler of the Earth Country and lorded over the Hidden Village of Stone, controlling the ninja loyal to it. And after a battle that lasted days, the first Tsuchikage sacrificed his life so that he could trap the Nekomata's soul into a container, a human container. The soul of the cat was bound up so tight that it was unable to do anything. So when its first container passed away, the body was burnt and the ashes, along with the beast's soul, were placed and sealed away in an urn to wait for the day when it would be once again placed into a human container.

And so the Nekomata waited…

* * *

Two years after the Kyuubi's defeat, a child was born to the Mitsukai clan, a clan with a unique advanced bloodline. But a month before the birth, there were complications that resulted in the mother's death. In an effort to save the last child of the diminishing clan, an all-too familiar urn was brought out and a ritual was performed to save the premature baby's life... 

"There was a flaw in the sealing, I am sorry… Hissori-san."

The seal the first Tsuchikage had created was duplicated imperfectly... The mother's death had not been in proper sacrifice...

The man, Hissori, cried over the loss of his wife before he looked at his new-born child. She was strangely quiet despite the ritual that had just been performed. Snaked around her body were chains of symbols that had failed to merge into one large seal upon her forehead. The baby looked like somebody had used her for a piece of paper and not part of a powerful sealing that was meant to contain one of the most feared creatures in the world.

But she was alive... That was all that mattered to her father. The man picked his daughter up and cradled her. The symbols on her body melted into her skin.

"Kita… Grow up to be brave and strong willed."

He said those words in hope that the Nekomata would never find a way out.

But the cat had been waiting. It had been waiting a long time in that urn. It would not let a mistake go squandered.

* * *

**Six years after the flawed sealing… **

"Now Kita… Kita, listen up. Stop that."

A small girl blinked and looked up her father with large misty purple eyes. She spat the hair she had been chewing on out of her mouth. Her hair was silver, just like her father's, but it held a purple shimmer when the light hit it.

"Sorry," she said with a cute pout that made her father both sigh and smile.

Hissori was into his late-twenties now, but he felt a lot older than he looked. Being a single parent was hard work, especially with a child that seemed so… _cat-like_. Disturbingly, that was the best word he could think of to describe his daughter, for she was just like a young kitten. She'd stay awake long into the night and then sleep unseemly long hours into the morning. The girl, when fully awake, would run around for ages just for the fun of it. She was there one second, then gone the next. Keeping up with her was one of the many things that made Hissori feel so worn down. Her curiosity had also been of concern. Hissori had once found her trapped inside a chimney. Why? He didn't know. But he suspected she had wanted to go see the birds that had made a nest up on the top of the smokestack. The only times Hissori got any quiet was when she became captivated by some object and would then spend hours at a time just looking it over. It was hard to drag her away from anything shiny, especially toys, but that was to be expected with her age.

Hissori hoped it was only a stage or a short side-effect of the sealing. The flaw that had happened still unnerved him. The Nekomata hadn't shown its power in Kita yet, but _still_…

"Daaaad! You said listen, but you're not saying anything!" Kita scrunched her face up, showing her impatience and annoyance.

"Alright, alright! Today I'm going to teach you about chakra and how to control it, got it?" Kita nodded and Hissori continued, "Chakra is the conversion of stamina into the energy needed to perform ninjutsu and genjutsu. Once you get the hand of converting stamina, it should become second-nature to you." From out of his pocket Hissori fetched a small white rock that sparkled with tiny pieces of quartz. Kita looked at it in fanatical awe, almost drooling at the sight of it. He chuckled, knowing full well Kita would use it very well for what he had in mind. He placed it in Kita's small hands. "I want you to concentrate on the rock. And then imagine you are covering it with a blanket, but the blanket will be your own energy. Ok?"

Kita frowned at the rock with her mouth doing a little sideways pout that Hissori thought was extremely cute. Kita nodded briefly then started to concentrate on the rock, imagining the scenario her father had told her.

After a few minutes of intense absorption a flicker of something sprung out of Kita's hands and whirled around the rock. The girl blinked then gave her father an excited look.

"Very good," Hissori patted her on the head. "Try again."

A few shorter minutes later, and a tendril of blue chakra extended out of Kita's hands to wrap around the rock. It lasted only a brief second before fading. Kita squirmed and grinned proudly at her achievement. The girl suddenly felt tired as the energy left her hands. Her father took the rock from her.

"There's a major rule when it comes to chakra use: Don't overdo it. If you use too much chakra, there's a chance you'll do serious damage to yourself, and I especially don't want to see it happen to you." He bent over and placed the girl onto his back. "I'm getting hungry, how about you?" Kita made a sound that sounded like an agreement. "Alright then, let's go get some steak."

"And milkshakes!" Kita cried out, despite her tiredness.

Hissori shook his head in defeat; the girl would drink nothing but milk if left to her own devices. Opening the front gate, the pair made their way downtown into the restaurant sector.

"Hey Mitsukai-san! How are those new rocks I gave to you?" A man called out from outside a stone mason store.

"They're really tough, but I'll crack them!" Hissori called back.

Kita and Hissori waved at all the people they knew before they came to a small outdoor eatery called '_Imaichido_'. The place was reputed for great food and even greater service.

"Hissori-san! Kita-chan! Welcome!" A cheery older man with greying hair greeted them as they sat down alongside the counter. "It's nice to see you again. Hissori-san, that last mission go well?"

"Yup, we ended up coming back a day early too. The guy didn't know what hit him." The special jounin laughed and adjusted the Stone Village headband that hung around his neck. Kita smiled at her father. She hoped she could become as strong and great as him one day.

The owner of Imaichido laughed as well, and then picked up a nearby ladle. "So, what'll it be you two? The usual, or do you want to try one of my newest recipes?"

Hissori grimaced slightly. The only thing that kept the place from a being a bigger success was the owner's insistence that diners try one of his newest recipes… which usually didn't end up going too well. It was better for him to stick to the traditional stuff he was renowned for.

"What's the new recipe?" asked Kita curiously.

"It's a special seafood dish! Fish eyes, raw squid and sea urchins!" announced the owner proudly.

"Yuck," replied Kita simply.

_My thoughts exactly…_ Hissori gave a crooked smile.

* * *

**Three days later… **

"Dad! Dad! Look!"

Kita slammed into her father's chest, bowling him over. Hissori hit the polished wooden floors of the living room and let out a grunt of pain before looking up at his daughter. The girl gave her father a cat-like grin and showed her the rock in her hands. She had totally covered the white rock in swirling blue chakra. "Isn't it great?" She bounced up and down on his chest. "You know what this means now?" She didn't wait for a reply. "You can teach me those hijustu!"

"Hey, hey, not yet!" Hissori sat up, pushing the jumpy six year-old down onto his lap. "Remember what I said before about those special moves?" The girl shook her head and Hissori sighed. He was sure the girl had selective hearing sometimes. "Learning the Mitsukai clan bloodline is too out of your league at the moment. Your body isn't trained enough. Before I teach you the hijutsu, and other ninjutsu, you have to learn some taijutsu, and that includes weapons as well."

The girl sucked on the edge of her knuckles listening to him before she spoke. "Body skills? That means I can learn some of our clan's special fighting moves then? You did say you'd teach me some special moves after all!"

_Dang_, Hissori thought, _That girl doesn't miss a thing…_

"Alright," Hissori nodded after his thought. "I'll teach you a few little tricks, but I doubt you'd be able to learn anything big just yet."

"Show me something right now then! I want to see that Spiral-thingy I heard you talking about once!" Kita jumped off his lap and tugged at sleeve to take her outside to the training area.

Hissori complied and let himself be led out by his daughter. It was a beautiful day in the Hidden Village of Stone, though it wasn't a rare thing in the summer. The village itself was located high on a ridge, surrounded by a number of high mountains covered with snow. The only easy route out of the village was via a road that ran alongside a stream that started up on the highest mountain, wove through the bustling village and then cascaded down a rocky hillside. Other routes in and out of the village consisted of a labyrinth of underground tunnels that only long time residents of the Stone knew about. The village was in a perfect spot, both for battle and panoramas.

As for the Mitsukai house, it was located near the far end of the village, close to where the stream started to run through the town. The house was a small L-shaped, two-story place. The wooden walls were made for the harshness of winter, but the folding doors of the front could be opened in summer to reveal a deck and a living room with traditional paper walls. Also on the first story was the kitchen, which constantly smelt like cinnamon and vanilla for some reason. Kita loved to hang around in there just smelling the place. At the back of the house hidden away from view was the bathhouse. On its roof was an opaque skylight to let the sun in and shine over the bath.

Connected onto the side of the main house was the workshop which held all the family's weapons, scrolls and other special tools. If anything needed to be repaired, it ended up in there. Not only were there weapons though, there was a large shelf full of reading material, from ninja strategies to fairy tales (and on closer inspection one could find an old copy of _Icha Icha Paradise_…).

The top story of the house held three rooms, two bedrooms and a spare room that was full of old junk Hissori had collected over the years. The training area they were in right now was actually the house's front garden. Hissori didn't mind that it was the front garden, for a tall bamboo fence surrounded the property. The front garden was mainly empty; the ground was neatly compacted dirt except over in a corner where a small outdoor sitting area had been set up under a sakura tree that stood near a zen pebble garden. The grass that grew there was well manicured and full of small purple flowers, purple being Kita's favourite colour. Sometimes the girl would sit on the bench under the cherry blossom tree for hours at a time, just staring at the pretty flowers.

Hissori sighed. The place was perfect. He just wished his wife was still around to see it…

"Daaad!" Kita interrupted his thoughts.

"Alright, alright!" The man snapped back to reality and waved his hands to show he was back on task. "Okay, now watch carefully or else you'll miss it."

Hissori focused on one of the rocks in the garden. He had small boulders moved in every other week to help in his own training. When he was finally done with a rock, he would give what was left of it to a local stone mason. Sometimes the boulders held jewels and ores inside them. The mountains in the area were famous for the amount of raw mineral they held. Lining his newest rock up, he breathed in several times then struck, blue chakra flared around his hand. Kita watched intently as just before his fist and chakra hit it, it blurred, then suddenly it landed in the middle of the rock. Hissori flicked his hand to get out the kinks as he drew it away from the stone. Kita's eyes widened when she saw what he had done to the rock. There was a spiral pattern of fist marks embedded in it.

"Behold- the results of the infamous "Mitsukai Rapid Spiral Strike"!" Hissori imitated a presenter's voice and held his arms out at the marks. He grinned and gave the stone a gentle knock with his foot. Suddenly the whole rock cracked outwards from the fist marks and shattered.

Kita's jaw was nearly on the ground.

"Wow!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Now teach me something! Pleeeease?"

"Alright, I'll teach you the basics of taijutsu, Mitsukai style!" He gave her a fatherly smile- sure the move he had just showed wasn't _exactly_ infamous or even a battle move... it wasn't reliable enough, but for a kid like her it would be good in training the body to use chakra and speed together.

He wondered briefly if he should tell her that. But seeing the enthusiasm on her face, he shrugged it off and decided to let her have her fun. He'd tell her one day or another.

* * *

**An hour later… **

"No, no! Don't hold your hand like that. You'd break your thumb doing that. Hold it like this. That's better. Now make sure its parallel… and punch! Good!"

Kita struck her fist into the sandbag that dangled off of the front deck. She made the sandbag sway a little from the impact. Kita repeatedly punched the bag over and over again in the way her father had shown her.

"Left, right, left, right, left, right…" she panted, punching a little harder each time. Her father watched from beside her, pointing out how to improve her method each time she struck.

"Now kick! No Kita… Kicking there is not a good option unless you want the guy to get extremely cheesed off with you… Yes, I know it would be effective too… Wait, how'd you know about that? Oh, don't tell me. I don't think I want to know… Just kick the sides of the bag, okay?"

* * *

**Another hour later… **

Kita's voice tore through the air to alert her father, who was napping on the deck. "Hey, Daaad! Watch me! Is this how you do the Rapid Spiral Thingy?"

Hissori raised an eyebrow as Kita closed in for the punch. Just before she hit, she slowly went around the edge of the bag, making the punches, but checking to make sure each one was correct before she touched. It was almost comical in the way she did it. Hissori had to bite his cheek to stop himself from laughing.

He coughed to regain his composure. "Ahem, that was, er, very good Kita… A bit slow, but good…"

Kita wandered over to her father and flopped down in his lap. "Daaad! I want to learn those special jutsu still!"

"I know you do. You've been going on about them since you were two, so I know. I'd teach them to you, but you need to be able to activate the Mitsukai bloodline first."

The girl blinked and swivelled her head around to look up at her father. "How do I do that?"

"We aren't called the '_Tsuchi no Shugotenshi_' for nothing, Kita. In order to activate the bloodline, you must find a precious person and then put all your heart and soul into protecting that person. It is a very hard power to activate. I wasn't able to activate it until I was thirteen, when I met your mother for the first time." Hissori smiled at the memories he had of his precious person.

"Aww!" Kita groaned, "But I'm only six! Thirteen is heaps away! I wanna learn now!" She pouted.

Hissori was suddenly glad that Kita wasn't the kind of child that threw temper tantrums. He placed a warming hand on her head that made her halt and blink.

"Kita, first you must find a precious person. And I don't count as one. It has to be of someone not blood-related. Tomorrow you'll be heading off for your first day of ninja academy. Maybe if you look, you will be able to find a precious person there."

Kita sighed, knowing she couldn't argue with that. Hopefully she would be able to find someone in this town.

* * *

**The next day... **

"Good day class," The female ninja smiled and waited for her class of girls to stop squirming as they sat down on the grass. "Welcome to your first day of Ninja Academy! Now, I guess you would have noticed that this is an all-girls' class. In the mornings the class will be separated, but during the afternoon the classes will be combined again."

Kita started nervously looking around at the rest of her class whilst she half-listened to her new teacher. A finger tapped her on the knee and she looked beside her. There was a girl with long black hair that looked like silk. Her blue eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Hi," she grinned.

Kita smiled back shyly. "Hi, what's your name? I'm Mitsukai Kita."

The girl pointed at herself and winked. "I'm Jotei Yanagi."

"That's a pretty name," Kita replied.

"Thanks." The black-haired girl poked a small pink tongue out. "Hey, let's be friends!"

Kita's nervousness disappeared. "That'd be great!"

"Quiet, please!" The teacher called. She sighed, wondering why she accepted the job. Small children never listened to what she had to say. She continued despite that fact. "Being a good kunoichi means that not only will you have to be strong and skilled in jutsu, it means you will have to be smart. Female ninja are often used as spies because they blend in more inconspicuously. Knowledge is the key to keep yourself from falling victim. So for our first lesson we will learn about flowers. I want you all to go out and collect one bunch of daises and peonies. Daises symbolise innocence and peonies symbolise happiness. Now go off and be back in an hour."

"Come on, Kita!" Shooting up, Yanagi grabbed Kita's hand and started dragging her off.

Another girl tip-toed up beside them. Her long dark green hair was tied up in two thin braids. Her deep brown eyes looked nervous. "Excuse me, but, uh… Can I hang out with you guys?"

"Sure!" exclaimed Yanagi. She introduced herself, then Kita.

The girl bowed. "I'm Ishi Hana."

Yanagi gaped. "You're Tsuchikage-sama's daughter, aren't you?"

The green haired girl nodded shyly.

"That's so cool!" exclaimed Yanagi, excited to have met someone with a famous father. "What's it like to have a dad like that?"

Hana's eyes flickered to the side, then at the ground. "I… don't really see him a lot, since he's so busy, but he's really nice."

"Nobody in my family is a ninja," Yanagi boasted loudly, pointing at herself with a thumb. "So I'm gonna be the first one! Maybe I'll be the next Tsuchikage if I get good, which of course I will."

Kita stifled a giggle- Yanagi was an amusing friend to have. Her attention moved over to Hana, who continued to stare at the ground. Kita felt bad suddenly. Sure, her dad went out on a lot of missions, but it seemed like he was always there for her. But then again, this girl had a mother at least… Kita didn't know much about her mother except that she had been very kind and loved to make people smile. Kita hoped that not only would she grow up to be a good ninja like her father, she hoped she could continue her mother's dream of bringing a little sunshine into other people's lives. Kita tapped Hana on the shoulder. The girl looked up.

"I really want to become good friends with you, Hana-chan. You seem really nice." Kita gave the green haired girl a genuine smile.

Hana seemed stunned for a second before she returned the smile, it was just as genuine. "I want to be friends too, Kita-chan." The ice between them broke.

"Kita! Hana! I found some daises!" Yanagi's shrill yell tore through the air. She had run ahead without the other two noticing.

Taking each other's hand, Kita and Hana laughed before running to catch up with their other friend.

* * *

"Heya sugar-cake!" The female ninja that had taught the girls popped her head around the classroom door and winked at her fellow teacher, a man in his late twenties. 

The shinobi teacher glared. "I told you before, Mia, don't call me that." He blushed. "At least not with the kids around…"

"Aw, but you know you like it, Tai-chan." Mia blew a kiss at her sweetheart and waved. "Here's the rest of the class for you. Now you behave, okay? And I'll see you tomorrow." She disappeared in a puff of smoke and the girls wandered in. Tai wasn't sure if she had been speaking to the class or him.

"Alright, girls, take your seats. Hey! No spit-balls!" He wiped a salivated piece of paper off of his cheek.

"But you're a chuunin!" yelled one of the boys somewhere up the back. "You should be able to duck it!"

"Yeah! You're a lousy ninja!" yelled someone else.

The teacher gave the boys a death-stare and ducked as a round of spit-balls came shooting his way. The girls screamed and hid under the nearest tables.

Kita, Hana and Yanagi all crouched under their table near the front of the class, giggling.

"What's so funny? Can I join?" A boy popped his blue haired head under the table to stare at the girls. His dark orange eyes were excited and curious.

The girls screamed when they saw him. The boy hit his head on the table as his head shot up.

"Ow! Girls… so loud…" he groaned, rubbing his head. The screaming stopped and he looked back at the trio. "Hiya!" He flashed a wide grin. "I'm Kigaino Sora."

"What'cha doing, Sora?" Another boy appeared; this one had light green hair. His hazel eyes instantly looked at Hana and he smiled. "Hey, Hana!"

"Oh," Hana smiled and waved weakly. "Hello, cousin Tansei."

Yanagi stared at the green haired boy and felt her cheeks start to glow red. The boy was pretty cute. Suddenly her view was obstructed as a pair of dark orange eyes came up right before her.

"Hey, want to go out on a date with me?" Sora gave another wide grin.

Yanagi screeched and pushed Sora away, sending him out from under the table. "Ew, no!" She balled her hand up into a fist and shook it at the blue-haired boy. He was nothing exceptional in appearance to her.

"So what's your name? I'm Ishi Tansei, Hana's cousin." Yanagi quickly turned her head around, hoping that Tansei was asking her that question. Instead she found him talking to Kita.

"I'm Mitsukai Kita," Kita gave a slight smile.

Yanagi felt like steam was going to come out of her ears. Luckily she was interrupted when a large hand appeared at the edge of the table and lifted it up. Their teacher was glaring at them.

"When I ask for attention, I hope to get it. Back to your seats please." He plonked the table back down and went back to his desk and sighed. At least when he got home Mia would have something nice done for dinner. Seriously, he didn't know why they had decided to be teachers. Giving his temples a brief rub he stood up to address the class.

"Let's get this started, shall we?" He coughed loudly to make sure the class was attentive.

Yanagi quickly stopped staring at Tansei from her seat and sat up.

"To start, I would like to ask those with ninja families to raise their hands." A majority of the class raised their hands and Tai nodded. "Good, good, just as I thought. For those of you who are not from ninja families; congratulations on making the choice. It is very brave of you. Now, I would like to ask all of you here; who knows how to convert stamina into chakra?"

Five people raised their hands. Among those were Kita and Tansei. Kita glimpsed up behind her at Tansei and gave him a brief smile. He returned it.

Yanagi pouted at their exchange. Her eyes flickered to beside Tansei where Sora was. He noticed and gave her a wink. Yanagi wished she had something very large and heavy to throw at him suddenly. Hana's sigh stopped her from picking up her chair and tossing it.

"What's wrong, Hana?" she asked in a whisper, then blinked as she realised. "Oh… but, I thought that being the Tsuchikage's daughter and all…"

"…that I'd be a natural at stuff like that?" She finished Yanagi's sentence for her and shook her head. "I'm not at all. I get too nervous when I try."

"Looks like we have a long way to go then..." Tai scratched the back of his head as he looked around at the class. Some of the kids looked confused. This could possibly be the worst class he'd ever had in his seven years of teaching. "Alright, let's start with the basics of chakra then. Chakra is the energy used to perform different forms of jutsu- it is a combination of both physical and spiritual energy. For example;" Tai performed a set of two seals. "_Doro Bunshin no Jutsu!_"

A pile of mud rose up from the floor and formed itself into an exact replica of Tai. Some of the class oooh-ed at the display as the mud clone fell apart after its use was up.

"Of course, mud clones do leave quit a bit of mess afterwards," Tai sighed as he looked at the mud on the floor he'd have to clean up after.

"I can't wait to learn stuff like that," Yanagi whispered to Kita and Hana. As she talked, someone in the class asked Tai-sensei why he hadn't just made a normal bunshin to save on cleaning.

"There's heaps better jutsu than that out there, Yanagi." Kita raised an eyebrow at the silky-haired girl. In the background Tai-sensei was swearing loudly as he realised the sense of using a normal bunshin jutsu. Kita smiled, then added, "I can't wait until I activate my bloodline."

"You have a bloodline?" whispered Yanagi excitedly. The class started jeering at Tai-sensei for his colourful use of language.

"She's from the Mitsukai clan, they have really cool abilities," commented Hana with a smile. A ball of scrunched up paper flew past her head to hit Tai-sensei on the nose.

Kita grinned at Hana. In front of them, Tai-sensei was telling people off.

"Hey, I have a bloodline too, you know." Sora lent forward, ignoring Tai-sensei's yells. His eyes gave off a sparkle at Yanagi. "Does that make me cool, Yanagi-chan?"

"No," replied Yanagi aloofly. She turned back to their teacher who was now trying very hard to explain the inner workings of the chakra system a class of six year-olds.

"Er, well, you see… the inner coils are…" The class stared at him with glazed eyes.

"Do something cool, Tai-senei!" shouted someone in the back.

Tai felt like hanging his head on the wall. The class started to cheer to egg him on.

"Do something cool! Do something cool!" they chanted.

"_Henge!_" shouted Tai, suddenly putting his hand into a seal. A cloud of smoke burst around him then cleared, revealing a large brown bear that reared up and growled at the class menacingly. Many of the girls in the class screamed, whilst the others cheered. Another burst of smoke, and their teacher was back to normal. "Are you happy now!" Tai yelled at the class, shaking a finger.

"Yes!" replied the class.

Tai sighed, maybe now he would be able to have some peace. As he sighed, a spit-ball flew out of the air and splattered him on the cheek…

* * *

**A/N: **Well, how was that? . Oh, I never introduced myself, did I? My name is Raine Joybringer, though you are very much welcome (and encouraged) to call me RJ. 

I had some good fun writing up this first chapter. I'm forever looking up stuff that I find is useful for this story. Hopefully I'll finish it; I do tend to procrastinate more as I go along. If you have any questions concerning the story, or even the Naruto series in general, please ask. Though I can say I'm no expert.

If you're wondering if any of the original Naruto cast will show up, then let me assure you they _will _make an appearance. At least some of them will.

**The Nekomata: **

The below is a bit of what I was able to collect around the web:

The Nekomata is a two-tailed cat of Japanese mythology; it is said they could reanimate and control the dead just by gesturing with its tails or paws. They were known for holding grudges, and for revenge would torment a person with their dead relatives. They would only release the grudge when they were appeased by food, apologies and attention.

In _Two Tailed Angel_, the Nekomata's powers are similar, though much more terrifying. Watch out in the next chapter when things start to get freaky.

**About the names: **

**Mitsukai Kita-** Mitsukai means 'angel', whilst Kita means 'north'. Kita is also a contraction of 'ki' and 'ta': ki meaning spirit or will; and ta meaning to be lonely or be proud. (Does the title of the story make more sense now?)

**Mitsukai Hissori-** Hissori means 'silent'. It is appropriate since Hissori was once an assassin-nin.

**Jotei Yanagi- **Jotei means 'empress' and Yanagi means 'willow'. I thought 'empress' would be good to refer to Yanagi's, er… attitude.

**Ishi Hana-** Ishi means 'stone' and Hana means 'flower', or even 'petal'. Hana is a gentle soul, so 'flower' or 'petal' suits her perfectly.

**Kigaino Sora- **Kigai means 'strong spirit' and Sora means 'sky'. Put it all together, and you get 'Strong Spirit of the Sky'. 'Sky' is mostly in reference to Sora's blue hair.

**Ishi Tansei- **Tansei means 'handsome'. I thought it'd be perfect for him since most of the girls in the class adore him.

**Tai and Mia- **Random names I just plucked out of the air. I haven't looked at their meanings, but I don't see them as major characters so it shouldn't matter.

**Jutsu used: **

Here are some of the new techniques I created that were used in this chapter. I will not explain any old ones you have heard before like _henge _or _bunshin no jutsu_ (mostly because I may get them wrong).

**Name of Jutsu (English/Japanese?) **(Type) (Element?) (Rank?) Short description (Creator?)

**Demon-Cat Sealing Ritual:** (Sealing Method- Forbidden) The ritual used to seal the Demon-Cat into a human host. (Created by the First Tsuchikage)

An extremely difficult ritual created for the sole use of trapping the Nekomata inside a human container and binding its spirit so harshly that none of its powers can manifest in the human host (usage on any other tailed-beast would not result in the spiritual binding). The first use of this ritual resulted in the death of the first Tsuchikage. Future use of the ritual should not require a human sacrifice.

(Note: Most recently used to place the Nekomata inside Mitsukai Kita to keep her alive as she was taken out from her dead mother prematurely. Unfortunately the ritual went awry and was incompleted. The effects of the flawed sealing are yet unknown, though the host does display some rather cat-like behaviour.)

**Mitsukai Rapid Spiral Strike:** (Taijutsu) A Mitsukai clan special move where just before impact, the fist spreads out to create extra impact that results in a spiral line of following. (Created by the Mitsukai clan and mostly used as a training device for the body. It is occasionally used in battle though.)

The maximum devastation these series of punches can generate is when the blows are central to the face, chest, stomach or back. It can clip an opponent if they move, but it will only be as effective as a normal punch. The key to its devastating power is the central punch after the spiral strikes. The pain will be centred by the last punch and the muscles (or any matter) around the surrounding area will be severally weakened, causing greater pain. It is very effective in winding people as well... as long as you're able to catch the person with it first. It can sometimes be considered unreliable.

**Doro Bunshin no jutsu **_(Mud Clone)_ (Ninjutsu) (Earth element) (D rank) A cloning technique that uses mud to create a doppelganger.

A very simple cloning technique, though the mud clone is a little sturdier than a normal clone and is able to take a little more damage. Since the clone still retains its mud colour, it isn't as useful when escaping or trying to hide yourself from your enemy.

**K, until next time, have fun!  
**


	2. The Ruling

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **The second chapter already? Whoot! I hope to explain quite a bit more to the story now, plus add a few things that'll make you go 'huh?' XD Remember to leave a review at the end! Thanks!

* * *

**_Chapter 2: The Ruling_**

**A year later…**

"Mitsukai Rapid Spiral Strike!" The sandbag Kita was working on split through the middle, the sand inside it spilled out onto the floor. Kita grinned and flicked her hand to dispel the chakra around it.

Hissori clapped. "Mitsukai Rapid Spiral Strike completed!"

Kita jumped around, pumping her fist into the air. "I did it! I did it!" Suddenly a broom landed next to her. Kita paused.

"Now you gotta clean it up." Hissori winked. He paused, remembering something. "Although, just before you go, I forgot to tell you something about the move-"

"Sorry, no time, Dad!" yelled the seven year-old, panic in her purple eyes. "I've only got ten minutes!" She sprung to work, grabbing most of the sand in one sweep, and throwing it off of the deck. She quickly gave her father a peck on the cheek before racing down to the front gate. "See ya! Love ya!"

"See ya sweetie!" Hissori waved after her. He sighed.

* * *

Kita dodged people as she ran through town and towards the Ninja Academy.

"Late! Late! I'm so late!"

"Kita!" yelled someone behind her.

Kita looked back, then slowed her pace a little.

Sora puffed as he joined her, sweat beading on his face. "You need to learn to slow down sometimes, seriously!"

Kita grinned at him. "Are you afraid to be beaten by a girl, Sora?"

"That's got nothing to do with it!" The blue haired boy pouted. "You know my family are more focused on matters of the mind more than matters of the body."

"You won't get far if you don't at least learn some basic taijutsu, you know," commented Kita with a worried look. "Genjutsu won't always save you."

"I know! I know!" groaned Sora. "I'll have to ask Tansei to help me out or something. I still haven't activated my family's bloodline yet, so I have some time extra."

Kita yawned. "I didn't get enough sleep last night."

Sora rolled his eyes. "Hey, I remember that camp-out we all had a month ago. You sleep like a log, yet you complain about lacking sleep the next day. You're a weirdo, really you are, Kita."

Kita gave Sora a devious grin. "Yeah, but at least this weirdo can beat you to school!"

Sora gave a groan of displeasure as Kita took off.

* * *

"Sora! You're late!" yelled Tai-sensei as the blue-haired boy entered the door. 

Sora grumbled something about hyper-speed-demons and plopped down into his chair beside Tansei.

"Late again, Sora?" Tansei smirked.

"Shut up," groaned Sora, thumping his head on the table.

Yanagi stared up at Tansei, she still hadn't gotten over him after a year in the same class. Kita and Hana sighed together in unison when her eyes seemed to glaze over.

"How's your training with your dad going, Hana?" Kita asked Hana suddenly. Hana perked up and turned to her.

"He's a really strict teacher, much more than Tai-sensei." She gave a light giggle, her shyness was still there but she had learned to open up to people like Kita and Yanagi.

"Learn any cool new jutsu yet?" Secretly, Kita unwrapped a muesli bar from her pocket and popped a few pieces in her mouth. She had forgotten about breakfast in her hurry.

Hana shook her head, "We're still working on that earth jutsu; I haven't been very successful at it. I'll probably never be good at this ninja stuff." She sighed.

Kita patted her on the shoulder. "Hey, it's not that bad. Maybe you'll end up finding you're better at genjutsu or something. We're still young and got a long way to go, with lots of possibilities in front of us... That's what my dad says at least."

The green haired girl smiled a little. "You always know how to make me feel better, Kita."

"You're not being sarcastic there, are you?" Kita raised an eyebrow.

Hana laughed. "No, of course not."

"Good." Kita flashed a grin.

"Kita!" yelled Tai-sensei suddenly.

Kita sat up in her chair. "Yes, sensei?"

"I want you to demonstrate a proper _henge _for the class." Tai pointed to the front of the classroom and smiled. "I heard your father has been teaching you."

Kita gulped- she still hadn't gotten the hang of _henge_, even with her father's instructions. For some reason she always ended up as the same thing, which for some other reason always made her dad suddenly act very nervous. Slowly she made her way to the front.

"Kita, can you transform into a version of me?" Tai asked.

"Uh… I can try…" Kita said nervously. She placed her hands into the seal. "_Henge!_"

A cloud of smoke surrounded her and cleared… revealing a small black kitten. The boys in the class laughed, whilst the girls squealed. Tai just stared with a slight look of disappointment on his face. Kita transformed back.

"Was that some kind of a joke?" Tai asked.

"I'm sorry!" Kita bowed, then raced back to her seat before Tai could say anything back. She shrunk down in her seat to escape the looks from her classmates.

"Uh, okay…" Tai coughed. "Well, why don't we take a break then?"

The class stormed out like a herd of stampeding cattle. Tai was left on the ground with footmarks on him. He twitched, then coughed up a clod of dust.

* * *

"What happened there, Kita-chan?" asked Tansei, wandering up to the group of girls. Yanagi started to blush. 

Kita blushed as well. "Uh, it's just… I dunno. I guess I wasn't thinking straight."

"Oh, well better luck next time, hey?" Tansei shrugged and walked back to his group of boys. Yanagi pouted.

Kita sighed.

"'Wasn't thinking straight'? Liar, you were not!" Yanagi snapped out of her love-dovey daydream about Tansei put her hands on her hips. She stared down her nose at Kita. "Tell us the truth."

"Fine, fine!" Kita waved her hands at Yanagi. She hated it when she did this… there was no way to avoid her. "I have a lot of trouble with my henge. I always end up turning into a cat."

"But it was a cute cat!" chirped Hana.

"You were lucky I was just feeling nervous there. If I do a henge while I'm angry or anything, it ends up worse."

"Worse?" Yanagi poked Kita on the forehead. "What, you'll end up looking like an even cuter kitty?"

"No..." Kita rubbed the spot she had been poked. "Well… it's complicated."

Yanagi looked at Hana and they both gave a knowing smile. Before Kita knew it, she was being dragged off into the forest. When they reached a place out of reach, they put her down.

"Alright. Go on, do a henge now," demanded Yanagi.

"Please, Kita, show us." pleaded Hana quietly

"No, I can't!" exclaimed Kita, getting irritated at them.

"Do it, or else we'll never be your friends again." Yanagi glared at Kita.

"Fine!" Kita snapped angrily. "But if you get scared, it's not my fault! _Henge!_"

Hana and Yanagi screamed. Kita hadn't become a kitty. Instead there was a large snarling panther. There was another cloud of smoke, and Kita was back again, panting slightly. She looked up at them irately.

"I told you!" she shouted and stormed off.

Yanagi and Hana both gulped. There had been something about that henge that seemed more than just a simple illusion. Up in a tree above them, Sora and Tansei were hanging onto a branch; their mouths wide open in shock.

"What happened there?" Sora mouthed to Tansei.

Tansei just shook his head in disbelief.

* * *

**Later that day…**

Mia flicked some hair out of her face and glimpsed back at her class. The boys' and girls' classes had been combined for the afternoon so that Mia could take them all over to Iwagakure's Weapon Storehouse. The class behind her all pushed and shoved in their eagerness to get ahead.

"Calm down! You'll all get to take a look in there!" Mia yelled out at them. Some of the shoppers and shopkeepers they were passing looked at her and the class with raised eyebrows.

Sora slowed down. Where was Kita? Jumping up and down, he noticed a familiar head of hair at the very back of the line. Kita had seemed to stop for some reason. Sora pushed his way back to her.

"Kita?" He asked as he reached her. The girl was standing in the middle of the lane, misty purple eyes wide and staring. Sora frowned. "Come on Kita, that's not funny."

The girl continued to stare ahead. Fear entered her eyes and she began to tremble like she was having some kind of seizure. On her forehead appeared a strange symbol. It looked like the kanji for 'seal', but it seemed as though someone had forgotten to finish it.

"Kita…?" Sora asked, grabbing her wrists.

Suddenly it felt like fire was coursing through his veins. As he watched, a bright light erupted out from where he held Kita's wrists. The light spread out like a ripple, contorting everything in its path. The sky turned to a blood red and the buildings became black. Sora's head was pounding.

_Kill…_

The screams snapped Sora's attention away he gazed around. The street was in a panic. Shoppers dropped their bags and ran. His and Kita's class were huddled together against Mia as they cried. Sora suddenly understood why. The place was no longer filled with just shoppers. There were… _things_ there as well. As their translucent white shapes became more defined, Sora gasped. The street was filled with ghosts. They limped along with wide, pupil-less eyes. Many of them sported injuries, ones that had obviously caused their deaths. The smell of blood filled Sora's nostrils. He coughed, feeling nauseated.

_Die…_

Sora's head snapped up. Where had that voice come from? The sky gave way as a pair of golden, cat-like eyes opened, looking down at the village from above.

_Stupid humans… You have forgotten me… You once all lived in fear of me… You will be the first to go when I escape this child… You will become lost souls, walking the earth… Being in it, but no part of it… And you will never know anything but fear and pain…_

The voice became a thundering laughter. The screaming from the panicked villagers intensified. Sora felt terror overwhelm his body. Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder. Sora turned his head. A man wearing the Stone headband stood there. His frosty blue eyes looked calm, yet grim. He glanced at Kita, then back at Sora.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this."

Sora watched as the man gave Kita a swift chop on the back of the neck, sending her down. The kanji on her forehead vanished. Soon Sora blacked out as well as he too was taken down.

The man grabbed the two and swung them over his shoulders. The eyes in the sky gave a furious glare and disappeared. The sky turned blue and the phantoms faded. Soon it was if it had never happened- though the street was littered with the signs of panic. Before anyone on the street realised who had caused the phenomenon, the man and his two passengers had disappeared.

* * *

**Two days later…**

Sora opened his dark orange eyes, and blinked. Someone was crying. A light blue head of hair signalled that his mother was next to him.

"Hey, Mum…" Sora croaked.

The woman looked up at her son, and then started to sob harder as she grabbed Sora into a bear hug. Sora felt like he was being crushed.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." Sora struggled out of his mother's grip. "What happened?"

Sora's mother sobbed harder, almost in hysterics. "It was that horrid Mitsukai child! Who would ever have guessed _she _was the child who had the Nekomata sealed in them all those years ago! I thought it was just a rumour, just like everyone else, but it's true!"

"What!" Sora nearly jumped out of bed. "You mean the same Nekomata you told me all those stories about when I little?"

She nodded, then wiped the tears from eyes. "Sora, I'm so sorry I sent you in the same year as that girl! The Tsuchikage wanted to move down the age limit because of the loss we suffered during the war with Konoha. I was so stupid; I wanted to prove that you could be a genius. I should have waited another year before sending you!" She started to cry again.

"Mum!" Sora grabbed her by the shoulders. "Don't be hard on yourself. And her name is Kita, not 'girl' or 'child'. She's nice."

Sora's mother gave him a serious frown, bordering on scary. "She is the reincarnation of the Nekomata, Sora! She's evil! No matter how normal she looks on the outside, inside she's nothing but a ruthless killer!"

She paused to breathe in deeply and regain her composure.

"We've heard that Kita is being kept under strict watch in the hospital. I don't want you going over there, or else you'll be in more trouble than what I can deal out. So you stay put. The villagers and clan-leaders will be attending a meeting tonight to discuss what to do." Sora watched his mother stomp out of his bedroom and slam the door shut.

Sora gulped. No way could his mother be speaking the truth. Kita was… she was normal. But at least now he understood why she had that particular problem in her _henge_. Or was she normal? He had seen the same thing as everyone else had. Had Kita changed since then? Sora hoped not.

* * *

Hana looked around worriedly at the class. The seat next to her was empty. Yanagi swung back and forth on her chair, chewing on a pencil and staring hopefully up at Tansei. 

"Yanagi..." Hana prodded the dreamy girl. "Do you think Kita will come back?"

Yanagi gave a snort. "I doubt it. I don't care anyway."

Hana's deep brown eyes widened. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"After what she did, I hope she never comes back. I heard what all the villagers are saying; she's a monster. That _thing_ she did proves it." She flicked some of her silky black hair out of her face. "I'm not the only one who thinks so." She motioned towards the class.

Hana listened in to some of the conversations. They were all about Kita. Many of comments said about her were not pleasant at all. Hana felt like blocking her ears. Kita had been nothing but nice to her! Sure, she had been terrified out of mind like everyone else had been that day. But how could one incident change the way she thought about her?

Tansei lazily scrunched up a ball of paper and flicked it across the classroom. Nobody was listening to Tai-sensei today. The class was abuzz with talk over the incident.

"So, what do you reckon, Tansei?" asked Sora next to him.

Tansei shrugged. "Dunno, but that was some freaky stuff Kita pulled out back there."

"Yeah..." Sora nodded slowly, then paused. He seemed to be hesitant about something. "Tansei… if Kita were to, well, come back… would you still be friends with her?"

"Uh, maybe." Tansei eyed the blue haired boy before turning away from him. _We'd all be better off without out Kita though…_ he thought.

"Did you say something, Tansei? About Kita?" Sora asked suddenly.

Tansei glimpsed back at Sora. He hadn't said that out loud, had he? He gave a slight gulp. "No, what are you on about?" He went back to throwing paper at people.

"Oh, never mind then." Sora murmured.

Tansei frowned. No, he was sure he hadn't said that out loud.

* * *

**At the hospital...**

Hissori read over the medical report again for the hundredth time that day. It was vague in its details, almost as though they had been done that way intentionally. Hissori frowned. Had the medical staff deliberately made it sketchy? From what he saw on the report, it seemed as though Kita was fine.

There was a slight mumble beside him. Hissori looked up. Kita's lips were moving, but the sound that came out of them was untranslatable. The girl had been like that for the past two days now since she woke up. Kita sat huddling her knees, rocking back and forth gently. Her eyes stared ahead, wide and frightened. Maybe she was okay on the outside, but there was something definitely wrong on the inside. The Nekomata had done something. Hissori cursed its name.

"Kita… I'm sorry." He went to place his hands on hers.

"I'd suggest against that for the moment," said a voice. The door slid open and a man around the same age as Hissori stepped in. It was the same man as had knocked out Kita and Sora. The man took a seat next to Hissori and scratched his head. His brown hair was messily hid under his Stone headband that was worn like a bandana.

"So Hissori, how are you two holding up?" The man's voice was deep and casual.

"Not good, Rosuto… She's been like this for two days now. Hasn't said a word, hasn't eaten a thing or even slept. I'm worried." Hissori buried his head in his hands. He had to keep his emotions under control.

Rosuto's frosty blue eyes read over the vague report. "Have there been any nurses in lately?"

"No… Not since she first came in…" Hissori's eyes widened. He had suddenly realised. Standing up, he threw a punch at the wall, leaving a deep dent. "Damn it! Why didn't I notice that!"

"Maybe, if you want to understand a little better, you should now put your hand on Kita's." Rosuto glimpsed at the rocking girl with a look of concern in his eyes.

Kita's father frowned at him, wondering what Rosuto was going on about. But he trusted whatever he had to say. They hadn't been team mates all those years ago without anything to show for it. Hissori placed his hand on Kita's. He suddenly realised why Kita was acting the way she was and why nobody had been in to see her. With his hand on hers, he could now see what she could. And what he saw chilled him to the bone.

At the end of the bed stood a crowd of pale white beings, each with wounds too terrible to describe. They stared down at Kita with wide, pupil-less eyes. Slowly, their gaze ticked over towards Hissori. Their mouths opened as if they were screaming, but no sound could be heard. Hissori dropped Kita's hand and stepped back in shock.

"The hell are those creatures?" Hissori gasped, still staring at the end of the bed. He couldn't see them any longer, but he knew they were still there.

"Lost souls, like the Nekomata said when it appeared. I saw the same thing when I was carrying her here." Rosuto put a hand on his shoulder to calm him and nodded down at Kita. "Only she can find a way out of this, Hissori. It's beyond us. All we can do is hope she'll overcome it." He took his hand off of Hissori's shoulder. "There's a meeting over at the town hall tonight. The villagers are furious, and I'm afraid they may take matters into their own hands. I'm going to report Kita's condition to the Tsuchikage and discuss it with him before he goes to it."

Hissori watched as the man left, sliding the door after him. His eyes glimpsed to the end of the bed and he shivered, then looked back at his daughter. She still hadn't made any new movements. "Please be strong, Kita. Your mother wouldn't want you to go through life like this. Be strong. Please."

* * *

**That night...**

The crowd murmured, growing impatient.

"She needs to be locked away!" someone yelled suddenly. The crowd seemed to agree.

"Quiet! Please!" The sound of a hammer sounded at the front of the hall. On top of a raised platform, the clan-leaders and elders of Iwakagure sat. Before them, the main hall was filled with both residents and ninja. The old man who had banged the hammer gave a sigh and looked over at his fellows. "Where is Benkeino-sama?" he whispered.

"He had better get here soon. They're getting restless. I don't even know what stopping them from going over to the hospital…" An older woman clenched her hand tightly. She knew Hissori and his daughter quite well. They treated her like a grandmother in some ways.

"Ekiyuu-san, the sad thing is we know Hissori and Kita-chan from our point of view, but they have a different view," replied the other man.

"I hope that Benkeino-sama can make them see the way we can too." Ekiyuu dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

A woman with light blue hair stood up and stormed to the front of the crowd just before the platform. "She's evil incarnate!" screeched the woman identifiable as Sora's mother. "We all heard the rumour seven years ago; that a child had the Nekomata sealed in them, but the sealing was flawed! Now we know the truth!"

"Yeah!" yelled a man near to her and stood up as well. "And we all heard what the beast said when it appeared in the sky! 'You will be the first to go when I escape this child'. The Nekomata intends to escape and wipe us out! We need to get rid of it before it gets rid of us!"

"Where is the Tsuchikage-sama!" demanded someone. "I want his opinion!" A few people in the crowd gave sounds of agreement.

The oak doors behind the throng opened with a loud groan. A man with dark green hair and wearing a white coat with the kanji for 'rock' on it strode in. He wore the garb loosely, revealing a black tank top, a pair of camouflage pants and large boots. His dark eyes were grim as he took his place on the platform.

Sora's mother and the man who had spoken with her both fled back to their seats.

"Thank Kami-sama you are here, Tsuchikage-sama." Ekiyuu gave a breath of relief. "My nerves aren't up for this any more."

"Don't worry, Ekiyuu-san. I'll sort this out." He gave the old woman a kindly pat on the hand and stood up. The crowd instantly grew silent. Benkeino was a man who commanded respect. "I have heard all of your concerns over the matter, and you do not have to be troubled." He glanced at the door.

Rosuto quietly slipped in to sit down with the rest of the crowd. He nodded at the Tsuchikage.

"We have nothing to fear from her," Benkeino continued. "As long as you do not worry her, she will not worry you. Hence I now propose a law; this incident is never to be spoken of again. Any person caught talking will be persecuted under the penalty of death. I now ask the council if they second the law." He glimpsed back at the leaders. They seemed a little nervous; either of Benkeino or the crowd, he wasn't sure.

"I second the law!" Ekiyuu said suddenly, raising a hand. She had to stand up for Kita and Hissori. It was the least she could do for them.

"I third!" agreed the old man.

Slowly the rest of the leaders raised their hands.

The Tsuchikage nodded at them, then turned back to the crowd. In a strict, commanding tone he said, "I, Ishi Benkeino, the Forth Tsuchikage of the Iwagakure no Sato and the Tsuchi no Kuni, make a ruling that any person found speaking of the incident two days ago will be found guilty under the penalty of death."

Taking a breath, he discarded that tone to a less harsh one. "Please, do remember this is only a child we are talking about. Would you like it if this were your child we were talking about?"

The crowd grumbled. Nobody wished to speak out against the Tsuchikage. What he said was law…

* * *

**A/N: **After writing that, all I can say is cree-py! As you can see, I tried to give everyone's point of view (Except Kita's towards the end, but that's intentional). I hope I got you asking a lot of questions! laughs evilly Cliff-hanger in a way, isn't it? Anyway, I'll keep this short and start on the extra info. 

**The Age Limit: **

This is what Sora's mother mentioned before. For those of you who haven't read the Kakashi Gaiden, the story revolves around when Kakashi first became a jounnin and when Konoha went to war with the Stone. Konoha won (of course), and the Stone ninja suffered huge losses to their numbers. Though it has been a while since that happened, the total numbers have not recovered yet. This is mostly due to the fact that a lot of clans were wiped out (Hissori was the only one from his clan to survive). In an effort to revive numbers, the Tsuchikage lowered the age limit for graduation and entrance into Ninja Academy. Now the age limit stands at 10 years old for a child to become a gennin. Whilst this has been successful in some ways, it has meant that injuries have risen as well due to inexperience.

**About the names:**

**Hoshino Rosuto- **Personally, one of my favourite characters and one of the first ones I imagined. Now you know his surname too! All together, his name means 'Star of the Lost'.

**Ekiyuu- **Ekiyuu means 'good friend'. A nice name for a nice old lady I reckon.

**Ishi Benkeino- **'Strong man of the Stone'. Hey, he's the Tsuchikage after all! Oh, and if you didn't catch on, he's Hana's father and Tansei's uncle.

**Jutsu used: **

None this time around, but I promise there will be some next time (hopefully . ).

**Review Responses:**

**Shang:** Thanks for giving me my first review! . I wanted the start to be a reflection of what Naruto (and to an extent, Gaara) both went through; with the obvious differences though. I've always wondered if a girl could be a jinchuuriki. I like Naruto and that, but I so wish that there was a little more of a feminine aspect to it. That's pretty much how I came up with the idea for Kita, and also why there are a few more female characters than male. I'm glad you like the jutsu info at the end. I got plenty more to add to that list in further chapters.

**Until next time! And leave a review all that! Questions and criticism are welcome.**


	3. Morning

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **It sure does take a while to come up with over 3000 words for one little chapter! But anyway, as I promised, there is a new jutsu in here and also an explanation of something else that may interest you. If you're cluey, you might be able to pick up a small spoiler.

* * *

**_Chapter 3: Morning_**

Over a year and a half had passed since the 'incident' with the Nekomata. Resent towards Kita had started to dwindle finally, but with the Tsuchikage's law in place, those who continued to hold a grudge didn't dare to breathe a word about it. However, even with the bijuu's threat still fresh in many minds, life still went on. Over time, the students at the academy began to forget about the silver-haired girl until she was nothing but a faded memory…

As for Kita, she was still the same as she had been all that while ago, though the medical staff did come in more often to treat her. The visions, they had found, were only caused by direct skin-to-skin contact. They had solved the problem (that many had secretly dubbed the Cat's Eye) by putting a kind of body-suit on her, though the many of the staff still had hesitations.

Hissori sat faithfully by Kita's bedside at all times, except when he was called out for missions. When he wasn't there, Rosuto and Ekiyuu would come by, and sometimes even the Tsuchikage would drop by too. Kita never acknowledged their presences. She continued to stare straight head at the things only she could see.

But now… Now fate had decided it was time…

* * *

**Winter... one and a half years after the initial incident...**

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, dancing and twirling before hitting the ground and covering everything in a white blanket. Winter in the Hidden Village of Stone was both beautiful and dangerous. The village was always wary of avalanches. Over at the hospital, things were quiet… well, almost…

"What's that cat doing in here?"

A cat the same colour as the snow outside frantically dashed through the legs of the nurses trying to catch it. As the hospital staff dove for it, the cat dodged and continued to run. It scarpered up a pair of stairs and along a hallway. The cat saw a door slightly ajar and squeezed inside. It panted, then took a look around the room. It was empty. Wait… no, it wasn't. There was a young girl sitting on the bed. She looked ragged and worn down.

The cat meowed, hoping to get her attention. It didn't. The cat's ears flattened back slightly. It hated being ignored, that and being chased by people in white coats with sharp, pointy objects. The cat gracefully leapt onto the bed and moved in front of the girl. It meowed again.

The girl suddenly stopped rocking.

The cat meowed again, loudly.

The girl's misty purple eyes changed somehow. The fear in them lessened and became more focussed. Slowly, their gaze shifted down onto the cat.

"Hello, kitty-cat…" The girl's voice was rough and scratchy.

The cat gave a happy meow. There was something about this girl that it liked…

* * *

"I'm really thankful for your company today, Ekiyuu-baa-sama. It's been… tough lately." Hissori carried a bundle of blankets in his arms as he walked beside the kindly old woman. 

"It's no problem at all, Hissori-kun. You know how much you two mean to me." Ekiyuu gave him a wrinkled smile that held a touch of concern in it. She really did worry about him.

A nurse recklessly tore up and down the hallway with a large net in her hand. She ran up to the pair. "Have either of you seen a white cat around here?" she asked.

Hissori and Ekiyuu shook their heads and the woman took off.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!" she called in the distance.

Ekiyuu gave a titter of amusement. "Cats in a hospital? Why I never…"

Hissori reached the door to Kita's room. "Yes, it sure is…" He dropped the bundle of blankets as he opened the door.

Ekiyuu gasped.

Kita patted a white cat that lay in her lap. She tickled it behind the ears.

"Ki-Kita?" Hissori's hands shook as he went over to her. _Please don't let this be a dream…_ he thought.

"Hello, Father," Kita replied, not taking her eyes off of the cat, which was purring.

It wasn't a dream.

Kita's father burst into tears and leapt on her, squeezing her in a bear hug.

Ekiyuu dabbed her eyes with her hanky. "Thank the Kami-sama…" she whispered.

Kita fell limp in Hissori's arms. He pulled back, hoping he hadn't crushed her or anything. Instead he found her fast asleep. It was the first time she had done so in over a year.

The cat leapt out of Kita's lap and streaked out the door. Nobody ever saw it again…

* * *

_Wake up…_

Kita opened her eyes and glanced around the room. Her brain was fuzzy. Kita tried to recall what had happened. She had been walking with the class… and then she heard a voice… The rest was a blur, except for one thing…

The girl sat up and stared at the end of the bed. _They_ were still there. Kita scowled at the lost souls that stood staring at her.

_Insolent creatures… _Kita thought bitterly. The fear she had felt before left her.

"Leave me alone…" she growled before giving a deep-throated snarl. The spirits gave her a woeful look, then moved on, walking through the wall. Kita blinked. Where had that come from?

There was a sound of groaning beside her. "Erk… what time is it?"

Kita glimpsed up at the clock on the wall opposite her. "Quarter past seven."

"Thanks," groaned the voice. "Wait… Kita!" Kita's father jumped up from beside the bed. He had been sleeping on the floor. There were traces of drool on his chin.

"Er, hi... Dad," Kita replied uneasily. She looked out of the window. Snowflakes clung onto the windowsill. Kita titled her head. "Winter? But shouldn't it be summer?"

Hissori looked a little shocked. "Sweetie, you've been out for over a year and a half now. You woke up for a little while last week, but then you fell asleep again."

Kita's mouth fell open. "Over a year and a half? But…"

Hissori grabbed his daughter up in a hug. "It's okay. You've missed out on a lot, but we'll catch up. I promise."

"Uh... Thanks, Dad," Kita whispered awkwardly.

"Dad, can we go for a walk?" she asked suddenly.

"If you want, Sweetie… There aren't many places to go outside though. The snow's gotten so deep they had to get a squad of ninja to dig the hospital entrance free."

"That's okay then!" Kita leapt out of bed and over to the window. She forced it open and gave her father a mischievous smile before jumping out the window.

"Kita!" Hissori yelled and ran over to the window. A snowball flew up and hit him as he looked out. Kita had only fallen a few feet before she had hit a bank of snow that was high enough to reach their room on the second floor. The girl had slid down the rest of the bank until she reached the courtyard. Hissori felt his face grow red with anger. The snow on his head melted in a few seconds. "Kita!" Hissori jumped out of the window and ran after her. "I'm so getting you for that!"

The girl laughed and ran away.

The game ended within ten minutes after the head nurse had come out and roused on them, saying that Kita shouldn't be out in the cold. The girl pouted and said the cold didn't bother her. Despite it, the nurse dragged them back to Kita's room. Many of the doctors and nurses gave Kita strange looks as she passed. A lot of them had given up hope of her recovery, saying she was destined for a nuthouse.

"Now you wait here and I'll send in the doctor. And don't let me catch you playing out in that snow any time soon, you hear? I'm especially disappointed in you, Hissori-san." The nurse closed the door.

Hissori felt like his ego had been thoroughly bruised. Being dragged by the ear past all those people had been embarrassing beyond belief.

The door opened again and a rather confused doctor was pushed inside. The head nurse poked him, then left.

"Er, um. Hello," said the doctor, composing himself. He took a glimpse at Kita's chart, then looked at Kita and back at the door for a second. His brows furrowed. "Well, that sure is strange." He looked over at Hissori. "And she just jumped out of bed and out the window, did she? And then you two had a snowball fight?"

Hissori nodded, sweat cascaded down the back of his neck.

The doctor bent down next to Kita. "Excuse me," he apologised and felt her arms and legs. He made a 'huh' sound and stood back up.

"What's wrong?" Hissori asked.

The doctor shook his head. "I've never seen anything like this before. According to the chart, Kita's muscles should have gone through slight atrophy. But there's no evidence of that at all. It's when the body eats away at the muscles to keep itself alive," he added, seeing Hissori's perplexed confused look.

"Oh…" Hissori blinked.

"Not to mention that normally, any person who had been like that shouldn't even be able to move because of the extreme lack of movement. Although we had been doing those excercises... But, never mind. Kita seems fine. I'd actually say you could take her home now, but it's probably best we keep her in here for a little while longer for observation." The doctor made some changes to the chart. "You two should go get something to eat. I'll see you later..." He left.

Hissori glanced at Kita. That girl looked puzzled as well. _Maybe the Nekomata was good for one thing after all…_

A loud growl emitted from Kita's stomach. "I'm starving," she moaned.

"Alright, alright, let's go get something then." Hissori scratched the back of his head.

Suddenly, Kita's nose started to twitch. "Yuck, what's that smell?" She looked down at what she was wearing; a black body suit with a hospital gown over the top. Kita felt like gagging. "I'm gonna have a shower first." In a very cat-like gesture, Kita rubbed the tip of her nose before walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

There was a thump behind the door.

"How on earth do you get this thing off!" Kita yelled. Hissori knew she must be trying to get the body suit off. There were several more thumps, then silence. "Oh, never mind!" She called.

Kita came back in after taking a thorough shower. She wore a new hospital gown that she had found in the bathroom.

"Ready to go?" asked her father.

"Yes, sir!" Kita gave him a salute and ran out the door, Hissori followed behind.

Kita sniffed the air again. The cafeteria was… that way! She sped down the hallway and down some stairs, then turned to the right. Something smelled tasty.

Hissori wondered how she knew where the cafeteria was… A thought niggled in the back of his mind. The Nekomata may have had done something more than just that eye thing.

"Eeek! What are you doing?" screamed a shrill voice.

Hissori ran into the cafeteria expecting the worst. Instead he found Kita munching on a large piece of meat. The smell of the meat and the overturned bin's contents hit his nose. His eyes widened. The girl had fished a raw piece of steak out of the bin.

The cafeteria women were screaming their heads off.

Kita shot them an irritated look and spat the meat out. "Fine, I won't eat it then. But there's nothing wrong with it!"

Hissori grabbed Kita up and dragged her by the back of her collar over to behind one of the doors. "Kita! You don't go around doing that!" Giving a slight frown, he decided to give it a shot. He shook his finger at her. "Bad kitty, don't eat out of the bin."

Kita gave a slight hiss of displeasure, "Alright, but I want another steak… and some milk." She added.

The man felt like falling over. He was amazed that had worked.

Kita leapt over to one of the tables and sniffed at the pepper shaker curiously. She sneezed.

* * *

**Later...**

Kita stood in front of the window for her room. Her dad had run out a little while ago to grab some of her clothes, though he said that he doubted they would fit anymore. Kita was nine years old now. She had missed two birthdays while she was 'out'. Her tenth birthday would be in a month or so. But the ninja academy graduations would be in just a few days. No doubt, Hana, Tansei, Yanagi and Sora would all be graduating.

Kita's eyes grew wide. What had happened to her friends? Her father had never said anything about them dropping by…

The door slid open suddenly. A man with brown hair and frosty blue eyes entered.

"Nice to see you awake for once, Kita-chan," said the man.

The girl remembered the man from the dinners he had come to years ago. "Hello, Hoshino-san."

The man gave a brief smile as Hissori walked in with a handful of clothes. "I ran into your father while he was coming back. I told him that those clothes wouldn't do any good, so I got him to buy you some new ones."

Hissori dumped the clothes on the bed. Kita pounced on them and started to go through them. They were perfect for training: a dark purple t-shirt; a green sleeveless jacket; three-quarter black cargo pants (with lots of wonderful pockets to keep things in, Kita observed); and a pair of knee-high black boots with silver laces running up and down them. Kita hugged the clothes tightly.

"They're great!" Kita exclaimed.

"You're just missing one thing," said Rosuto and pulled out a pair of long black gloves. They matched her boots with silver running up and down the material like laces. He handed them to her. "Now, Kita-chan, your father and I have something very important we want to discuss with you…"

Kita sat down on top of her bed.

Hissori sat down next to her and glanced at her hair. He frowned. _That wasn't there before, _he thought. A black streak of hair ran down Kita's fringe. He swallowed and started to tell her… tell her everything…

* * *

**Half an hour later**

_So that was it…_ thought Kita after her father and Rosuto had finished. _That is the reason why…_

Now that she thought back to it, Kita remembered actions she had performed where normally she wouldn't have: she wouldn't have ever jumped out of a window like that; she normally hated the snow but there she was playing in it; and the cafeteria… what had she been thinking?

Out of the corner of her eye, a white figure moved through the wall and slowly limped over to the end of the bed. Kita slowly turned her head to gaze at the creature. Its jaw hung loosely, dislocated. Its right arm and shoulder were missing.

Something inside Kita swelled up inside her, making her want to hiss at it and strike it down with her claws. Claws..? She didn't have claws...

"Kita-chan?" asked a deep, soothing voice. Rosuto put a hand on hers and glanced over at the end of the bed. Kita turned back to see him frown. "Ah… There's one of them now."

"You see it too?" Kita asked.

He took his hand off and half-shook his head. "Only when I touch you; skin-to-skin contact causes the other person to see as well."

Kita looked at the gloves beside her. The silver laces on them winked. "So that's what the gloves are for?" She grabbed them and slipped them on slowly.

"It-it isn't fair." she whispered.

This time it was her father who put a hand on hers. "Sweetie, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He was close to tears, but didn't want to show it. Kita cried for him as he pulled her into a hug.

Rosuto felt that it was time to leave. He nodded at the two as he closed the door after him. He had to see the Tsuchikage again. Kita was determined to be a ninja, but he knew of only one person who would be willing to take her on as a student: himself. And if anything _were_ to go wrong, at least he would be able to help to an extent.

* * *

**A week later...**

Kita had returned back at home after a final check-up about half a week ago. However, she had only one day left before graduations. She had had to catch up on over a year's worth of training in just those few short days. Both her and her father knew it was impossible, but they hoped that at least she'd be able to get the basics for what were required of the test.

"You did bunshin perfectly yesterday, but you need to know just one earth jutsu to be able to pass fully," explained Hissori whilst the two sat out in the front yard. He gulped. "And also henge…"

Kita looked thoughtful for a second. Her eyes slowly traced the path of a bird flying through the air before she stood up and poised herself. "Dad, I think I can do it properly now. I just feel like I can."

Hissori raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly worried. "Okay, show me then."

Kita raised her hands up into the seal. "_Henge!_" Smoke surrounded her, then blew away to expose a perfect replication of Hissori.

Her father looked amazed. "Wow, oh…" He noticed that there were several flaws with the henge, one being that it had paws instead of hands.

The transformed Kita blushed. "Uh… or maybe not properly…" She transformed back in a flash. She looked panicked. "What'll I do? They won't accept me if my transformations have paws and stuff!"

"Hey, hey, calm down." Her father quietened her. "We'll just work on it a bit more- I think you just need to concentrate better. But first, I want to teach you a simple earth jutsu that will let you pass the final part of the exam." He stood up as well. "It's called Doton; Doro Kensei no jutsu. I'll show you how. It's a D rank technique, but its power and range can be increased."

There was a fresh stone out in the yard. Hissori performed a series of four seals and slammed both of his hands into the ground directly in front of the stone. "_Doton; Doro Kensei no jutsu_!"

The earth around the stone seemed to melt into a small mud hole. The stone slowly sank halfway done into the bog before Hissori ended the technique and the earth hardened again. Kita did not clap as she normally would have done when she younger. Instead she had a look of fierce concentration on her face. She nodded once and stood up.

"One, two, three and four..." she mumbled as she performed the seals and slapped her hands on the ground. "_Doton; Doro Kensei no jutsu_!"

The stone sunk until only the top could be seen.

Hissori was amazed. She had only watched it once and had mimicked it perfectly. Kita had changed indefinitely...

Kita dusted her hands off. "Can we work on my henge now?" she asked.

"Uh, okay." Hissori looked at the rock. "You do know you'll have to dig that out, you know?"

Kita fell onto the ground and groaned. "Aw, that's not fair!"

Or maybe she hadn't changed all that much... Hissori felt confused, but shook it off. "Okay, back to henge then." Kita jumped up onto her knees to listen. "Like I said, I think you're just not concentrating hard enough. This time, just block off everything except the vision of the person. Just like how you were watching hard to memorise the Doro Kensei before, just concentrate hard on the henge. Now try again and take a big breath first."

"Alright," Kita took a deep breath and closed her eyes. _Think of the person... think of the person... _She put her hands into the seal. "_Henge_!"

* * *

"Congratulations, Kita-chan. You pass."

Kita untransformed from her perfect version of the examiner and received her new headband from him. The examiner seemed reluctant to pass it over, but did so anyway.

"I passed!" Kita cheered. She looked over her shoulder to her father and gave a cat-like grin.

Hissori swept her up in his arms as she ran over. He ruffled her hair. "I'm so proud of you."

The examiner walked over and passed her a piece of paper. "Here's where you go tomorrow to meet up with your new team and jounin instructor. Good luck," His last words seemed slightly sarcastic. Quickly the examiner gave Kita and Hissori a quick bow before he left through the front gate. The Tsuchikage had allowed Kita to take the exam at home for special reasons. It had taken more than a bit of persuasion to get the examiner to go though.

Kita studied the paper. "Team Omega, training chamber number six, hey, I'm in Team Omega! Isn't that the team you were on, Dad?"

"Yep, the very same one. I hope you'll learn as much as I did when I was on it." He checked the paper looking for a sign of who the jounin would be. There was nothing except what Kita had read out. Hissori had a feeling he knew who it would be, however.

* * *

**A/N: **I think you know who it's gonna be too. Who are Kita's team mates though? Hehe, not telling till next chappie I'm afraid! That thing in the cafeteria was a bit weird, hey? Ah well, but a kitty's gotta eat something! Who cares if it just happens to be an old steak out of a garbage can? . Cats aren't all that picky sometimes. Oh, and hey, just so you aren't confused with the timeline, at this moment in time, Naruto is just graduating as well. 

**The Exam:**

In the Earth Country, an academy student must know at least five things before they can pass:

Knowledge- Must know some basic history, geography, ways of the ninja, and how to come up with a strategy.

Basic taijutsu- Punching, kicking, dodging, ect...

Basic tools- Know the difference between a shuriken and a kunai, and know how to use them.

Basic ninjutsu- Need to know techniques like replacement and clones.

One earth jutsu- And finally, a student must know an earth jutsu.

These requirements were introduced several years after the lowering of the Age Limit. Since the requirements were set, the casualties have been lower, though not lower than in comparison to when the Age Limit was at 12 years of age. The need for a student to know an earth jutsu is for loyalty reasons only.

**About the Names: **

No new names this time around.

**Jutsu Used: **

Two jutsu this time, the one Hissori taught Kita, and also a bit of info on Kita's unique 'seeing' ability. Dojutsu are also known as 'pupil techniques'. The Sharingan and Byakugan would be placed in this category as well. (If the explanations aren't clear, tell me so I can try and fix them up)

**Doton; Doro Kensei no jutsu **_(Earth Element; Mud Trap)_ (Ninjutsu) (Earth element) (D rank) An earth technique where the user creates a bog of mud around the enemy to pull them down.

Many see this technique as a waste of time, but if a decent amount of chakra is placed behind it, the jutsu can be extremely effective in trapping large amounts of enemies all at once. The technique is thought of being useless because it does take a while for the earth to become mud, thus making it ineffective against quick-reacting ninja.

**Cat's Eye: **(Unknown classification; doujutsu?) (No rank) A seeing ability given through the Nekomata that allows the host to see the 'plains of the dead' and its inhabitants.

A disturbing ability shared by both the Nekomata and Kita that allows them to see the lost souls that wander through a kind of 'limbo' of the real world. The ability may result in some spirits following the seer. Its classification is hard to place, as the ability is not an illusion, but more of a 'sixth sense'. Skin-to-skin contact with another being on the physical plain will result in the other person being able to see the souls as well. The passing on of the ability works through chain-links. So if a person is touching someone who is touching Kita, they will see as well.

**Till next time! I'll try and get the next chapter up quicker. Remember to leave a review and all that! **


	4. Team Meeting

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **I've decided to answer the reviews from last time up here :3 Just so then there's no confuddlement. And just in case you're wondering, the Mitsukai clan is known for developing good fighters fast; it's in their blood (you'll discover the reason in future chapters).

* * *

**_Chapter 4: Team Meeting_**

**The day of the first team meeting...**

Kita took her headband off of the line and shook it out. Carefully she gave the metal a quick polish before going to place it around her forehead. She paused and shook her head. Putting your headband around your forehead was really old-fashioned and she didn't want to look like a loser. Without giving it a second thought, she loosely tied it around her hip. The metal plate hung down off the side of her left hip. Kita felt satisfied with its placement.

"Kita! You got fifteen minutes!" yelled her father from somewhere in the house.

Giving a quick yelp, Kita jumped up and slipped her gloves and boots on. "I'm going! I'll see you later!"

"I'm going out on a mission today, so I might not be back until tomorrow or the next day!" called Hissori. "But have fun anyway!"

"Okay!" Kita replied. She grabbed her equipment bag and clipped it onto her belt. Without thinking, she licked the side of her right hand and gave her face a quick wash. "Ew," Kita said quietly after she realised. "I hope I don't do that again when there are people watching."

She checked the piece of paper and ran out the front gate.

_It said training chamber number six. That means I need to take the underground entry near Hourui Mountain. _Kita smiled. She liked the tunnels and chambers under the village. Something about the underground place made her uncomfortable- she preferred places high up.

She felt aware of the sudden stares that came her way as she went through the village. There were hushed whispers around her. Resentment buzzed through the air.

_Why... why does it have to be this way?_ Kita asked herself. _I never asked for any of this. _

The small child inside herself felt cornered and scared. Kita decided to run.

* * *

After several minutes of intense running, Kita reached the elevator shaft that led down to section B of the tunnels. Stepping onto the platform, she flipped several switches that sent the elevator down into the earth. 

A smell reached her nose and Kita sniffed the air. There were scents here that she recognised faintly. She shook her head.

_Don't do any kitty stuff, _she reminded herself sternly.

The elevator groaned to a halt at the bottom of the shaft. Kita walked out and consulted a nearby map of the tunnel system. The map was ever-changing because of cave-ins. The tunnels were forever being upgraded because of it.

"There it is, number six." Kita poked the place and started to walk off. She ignored the spirits that wandered past her, poor souls that had been caught in some long forgotten cave-in.

Kita pushed aside the metal gate for chamber six that had been unlocked. Kita entered and stopped to look around. The chamber had been through extensive work to change them to resemble the outside world. Large floodlights that were mounted on the roof kept the vegetation from dying and there were small ventilation shafts running up to the surface. An underground stream had been tapped to get water running through as well. If she hadn't known better, Kita would have said she was in the middle of a forest.

Suddenly, she heard voices up ahead. Kita raised an eyebrow and followed the source of the noise. When she reached it, her mouth nearly fell open.

"The hell are you doing here?"

* * *

**Several minutes before in chamber six...**

"Rosuto-sensei, this is _so_ boring," complained a girl with blue eyes and silky-black hair. She wore her hair back with her ninja headband acting as a hair-tie.

The brown-haired jounin ignored her as he flicked through a small bingo book that was full of information on missing-nin. He scanned over an entry with a picture of a muscled man with a strange, jagged sword.

"Yanagi-chan is right!" agreed a boy with messy, dark blue hair and dark orange eyes. He patted his headband, which was around his right leg.

"See, even Sora is bored! And usually he can be amused by anything!" Yanagi flicked her long fringe back and idly fiddled with a pair of steel fans that hung off of her hip.

The blue-haired boy looked hurt, but only for a second. He gave a sly grin.

Yanagi's eyes twitched when she saw. Quickly, she pulled out one of her fans and gave him a large thwack over the head. "What have I told you about peeping into my thoughts!" she yelled.

Sora whimpered and rubbed the large bump on the back of his head gingerly. He pouted. "But Yanagi-chan, what happened to the lovey-dovey ninja relationship we were going to have?"

Yanagi brandished a fan at him irritably. "We are _not_ going to have a 'lovey-dovey ninja relationship'! I don't even like you!"

Sora mumbled something about being sensitive to head-blows before turning to his sensei. "Rostuo-sensei, who is our last team mate?" he asked, deciding that maybe he should change the subject. He raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're not going to find out that way." The jounin tapped a finger to his temple.

Sora gave a pout. "Not fair."

"Not fair!" Yanagi exclaimed suddenly. "I'll tell you what's not fair!" She waved her fan threateningly again. "Not being put on the same team as Tansei-kun, that's what! Rosuto-sensei!" She turned on the brown-haired man. "Why wasn't I placed on the same team as him?"

Rosuto put his bingo book away and eyed her. "It's all about giving teams equal advantage, Yanagi. The total amount of ability must be spread evenly throughout the teams. You'll find out why later on... Oh, I think our new team member is here."

Sora's and Yanagi's heads turned towards the woods behind them. Their faces twitched as they saw a pair of eerily reflective eyes coming through the darkness; it was like watching a predator stalking prey at night. The reflective pupils faded as Kita entered the field, looking slightly surprised. There was a short silence.

"The hell are you doing here?" Yanagi burst out angrily. Kita could tell that Yanagi had obviously felt that their friendship had ended.

"Why don't you come on over, Kita," said Rosuto calmly. The girl obeyed and came over to stand next to Sora.

The boy looked like he was close to glomping her. "Kita! Wow! Who'd have thought it'd be you! Our team rocks now!"

Kita gave what looked like a brief smile before she turned to Rosuto and bowed. "Sorry I'm late."

"No problems, you're here now." Rosuto flapped a hand. "Alright, Team Omega is assembled at last. Welcome Yanagi, Sora, Kita. I am Hoshino Rosuto, your jounin instructor and team leader for the next few years. I hope that we will get to know each other much better and grow up to be the strongest team in the Hidden Stone." He looked over his new team and nodded.

Yanagi quickly shot Kita a strange look; Kita scowled back at her.

Sora instantly felt like standing between Kita and Yanagi was a dangerous thing...

Rosuto coughed to bring their attention back. "We have quite an interesting mix of shinobi here. Yanagi, you specialise in weapons I take it?"

Yanagi smiled smugly. "Well, it's mostly my steel fans that I use. I've been working on taijutsu and ninjutsu to create a new style of fighting. At the rate I'm going, I'm going to become Iwagakure's most beautiful Tsuchikage ever."

Rosuto gave her a crooked smile. "That's... nice... It's good to see you're working so hard despite having no ninja relatives." He turned to Sora. "But you have ninja relatives, right, Sora? I heard from your uncle that you're one of the youngest members ever to activate your bloodline?"

Sora grinned, if not a little goofily. "Yep, that's me!"

"You activated your bloodline?" asked Kita, breaking her silence. "So you got your psychic powers then?"

"I'm still working on them, along with my genjutsu and that, but I have you to thank for all of it Kita-sama!" Sora got down on his knees and started to worship her.

"Er... no problem?" Kita smiled awkwardly. She realised what must have triggered Sora's bloodline...

"Sora, cut that out please," Rosuto ordered. His voice was stern.

Sora stood back up, a little flushed in the cheeks.

"And Kita," Rosuto chose to ignore Sora and continue on to her. The girl's misty purple eyes changed their gaze to him. "Uh, well..."

"I've got a lot of work to do," Kita replied. "But I'll catch up, I promise."

"Ha, you'll never catch up to me!" Yanagi smirked.

Kita only frowned back. Something inside her wanted her to leap on the black haired girl and scratch her eyes out; she wasn't sure if that was the cat-part of her thinking or not.

"I want to get some rules down with you guys," interrupted Rosuto. "One; never do anything solo without the team's consent first. Two; we improve ourselves as a team, even though individual skills are important. Three; don't place the team into any unnecessary dangerous situations. And four; we never let down your team mates, even if you dislike them." He gave Yanagi a glance. "Apart from that, welcome to Team Omega you three. We'll meet up at Iwa Tower at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning for our first assignment. Be there, or be square. See ya."

He gave a nod and disappeared in a cloud of ninja smoke. The three gennin blinked.

"Be there, or be square?" Yanagi raised an eyebrow. "Whatever, I'm outta here anyway." She waved a hand lazily at Sora and Kita and left for the exit.

Sora and Kita stood by themselves for a few minutes.

"Um," said Kita, breaking the awkward silence between them. "So Sora, how's your training been going?"

Sora shrugged. "Mum's been drilling me since I got the bloodline. I can never be sure when she'll put me into a genjutsu." He sighed. "That woman sure does a hell of a genjutsu, they're really hard to break out of. I've broken my fingers quite a few times when she puts a tough one on me."

"That sounds terrible." Kita looked concerned.

Sora flapped a hand. "Nah, it's fine, she never does any real bad genjutsu, and she doesn't put the bloodline behind it. If she did, I'd be stuck in one for weeks."

"What exactly can you do with your bloodline then? I know it's psychic powers and all, but you never explained it fully to me."

Sora scratched the back of his head. "I can't do much at the moment. I can only read what people are saying to themselves. I haven't worked out those instantaneous thoughts, you know, like ideas and that. It's harder to read the thoughts of people like Rosuto who have ninja training too. I'll get better later on though."

Kita smiled at him. "Yeah, I know you will."

Sora smiled back. "Well, I'd better get going. Mum's not going to be happy to find out you're on my team."

The silver-haired girl frowned. "Not a big fan of me I take it?"

He nodded. "Unfortunately, anyway, see ya Kita!"

The blue haired boy ran off, leaving Kita alone.

Kita stretched in a cat-like fashion and sighed, "Well, I hope tomorrow turns out better..."

* * *

**The next morning...**

8.45am... Kita had perched herself on a branch high up in a tree near Iwa Tower. She casually scratched behind an ear.

"Why, hello kitty." Yanagi landed on the tree branch. She smirked.

Kita gave her a death-stare and wrinkled her nose. "You better pray nobody heard you say that."

Yanagi let out a short laugh. "Yeah, right."

"I heard," said a deep voice.

Yanagi turned around and screamed. The Tsuchikage was standing on the branch behind her with his muscled arms crossed. Loosing her balance in her shock, Yanagi tumbled out of the tree. Luckily, she caught herself on a branch as she fell.

The Tsuchikage suddenly laughed and transformed back into Sora. He held his sides as he laughed harder and pointed at her.

Kita hid a satisfied smile.

"Sora!" screeched Yanagi indignantly. "You are so dead!" She grabbed a kunai out of her pouch and threw it at the boy. Sora yelped as suddenly the dagger disappeared in mid-air.

"You shouldn't treat your weapons like that; it disrespects them to be used in such callous play." Rosuto appeared next to Yanagi with the kunai twirling around his finger. He sighed internally. _Looks like this group is going to need more work than I first thought..._

Kita slid off of the tree branch and landed elegantly on the ground. "Do we go inside now Rosuto-shishou?" she asked.

The jounin shrugged. "We're all here, might as well. Oh, and Yanagi... I heard as well."

Yanagi's smile dropped into a look of embarrassment and horror as they entered the tower made of stone.

After walking up several flights of stairs, Rosuto opened a pair of doors that led out to a large airy room. The room had several desks placed down one end where people received customers. A woman talked to one of the ninja at the desk. She looked satisfied with whatever job had been done for her. Kita suspected it was an assassination from the bulging bundle of cash that she handed over. The woman checked her cherry-red lipstick with a gold pocket-mirror before she left, shoving past the team.

"Rosuto, good to see you here with your new team." said a deep, yet cheery voice. The group instantly recognised Ishi Benkei, the Tsuchikage of the Earth Country (and the man Sora had just impersonated for Yanagi). He smiled from his place behind a large desk. The other side of the room had a few members of the council sitting down behind large stacks of paperwork.

Rosuto nodded respectfully at him and approached the desks. His team followed.

The Tsuchikage scanned over some scrolls and picked one out. "Ah, here we go. Perfect for a first mission; D-rank, some gennin needed to help with some pest control over at a farm."

Yanagi opened her mouth to protest. She was quickly silenced by a stern look from Rosuto.

"Be glad, at least we get to leave the village," Sora whispered to her. "And it could be worse."

"Thanks." Rosuto received the paper from him and read over it. He turned to his team. "Alright, let's get going then. We'll catch a wagon out until we reach Osozaki, then head by foot from there."

"Good luck!" The Tsuchikage said before disappearing under a mound of paperwork again.

Kita followed the rest of her team out. As she left, she noticed another ninja team enter; a genin team by the looks of it. Kita's eyebrows twitched as out of the corner of her eye she spotted a head of light-green hair passed by. She changed her gaze just in time to miss as the person turned to glimpse at her.

Tansei's brow furrowed. _So it's true, she's back after all... She's not going to get far on her path though...

* * *

_

The wagon rattled back and forth as it lumbered down by the side of the river. The air was cold as a wind carried from down the mountains; spring was still a few months off. As the wagon left the village and started to go downhill, the weather grew more pleasant and the snow became patchy.

"Rosuto-sensei, what exactly are we doing?" asked Sora eagerly, happy to have left the village (and his mother's random genjutsu attacks).

The brown-haired jounin looked back from his place at the front of the wagon with the driver. "It's not too hard, just helping the farmers get rid of some persistent crows that have been stealing their seed."

Yanagi gave a sarcastic-sounding snore. "How boring, I mean, when are we gonna do something interesting? Like assassination!"

"I think we both know there's no way we're ready for that yet," commented Kita. "We're still genin, we do boring jobs until we either graduate to chuunin level or prove ourselves."

"Unfortunately, Kita is right," agreed Rosuto.

Yanagi crossed her arms. "That's just so unfair."

"Hey, it's better than ending up as mince meat." Sora shrugged.

Yanagi sighed and settled back for the ride.

* * *

Hours later, Kita gazed across at the ghost she was having an unofficial staring contest with. The soul had just appeared on the edge of the wagon an hour ago and had refused to leave, even with Kita's intense glare at it. She wanted to yell at it, but with the rest of her team here and the cart driver, she decided it best not to.

Suddenly the soul's gaze switched to look up behind Kita. The girl turned her head and a kunai flashed past, leaving a scratch across her cheek.

Immediately, Rosuto leapt to his feet and held a kunai of his own in his hand. "Damn it! Yanagi, Sora, get down. Kita, you okay?" His gaze scanned through the forest. _Damn, I should have been more aware! _he thought.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Kita replied softly and held a hand to her cheek as she hit the floor.

The cart driver gave a strangled yell and fell to the ground; there was a kunai embedded in his throat. The donkey pulling the cart halted when it felt that there was nobody holding the reins. It brayed loudly.

Rosuto pushed at them after looking up at the sky. "Quick, under the cart all of you!"

The team scrambled to get out and hide under the cart. Just as Rosuto joined them, arrows started to rain down from the sky and embed themselves in the cart. Yanagi gave a muffled scream. The donkey kicked at the cart wildly until the straps holding it broke. The cart gave a loud thump as the end went down, just missing their legs.

"Come on out, we know you have the Nekomata-child with you," a voice echoed through the forest.

"What do you want with her?" yelled Rosuto.

"What don't we want with her?" replied the voice.

Rosuto gritted his teeth and turned to his team. "There will probably be a number of them; probably all bandits or low-level missing-nin. I can take on quite a few of them, but because of the numbers, some of them will obviously go after you too. Fight back with all you got. Alright, let's go before they come to us."

Yanagi, Sora and Rosuto jumped out from under the cart. Kita sat there for a few seconds with wide eyes; this would be her first real fight...

* * *

**A/N: **I apologise for the wait, and that there wasn't all that much action. I re-wrote this chapter at least 3 times until I was happy with it. I originally had Kita attacking Yanagi after she mouthed off to her, but Kita's more the type to be patient and ignore it. . There'll definitely be a lot more fighting in the next chapter, promise. You'll get to see how well Kita fares against these new foes. And hey, the team ended up being pretty level, huh? 

**K, see ya for now! And leave a review!  
**


	5. Time Wasted

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **i thought I'd include some info on the approximate ages of some of the characters:

Mitsukai Kita: Nekomata-vessel, gennin, Team Omega, 10 yrs old 

Mitsukai Hissori: Kita's father, jounin, approx. 30 yrs old

Hoshino Rosuto: Old team mate of Hissori's, Team Omega leader, jounin, approx. 30 yrs old

Jotei Yanagi: Fan-user, gennin, Team Omega, 10 yrs old

Kigaino Sora: Genjutsu-user, gennin, Team Omega, 10 yrs old

Ishi Hana: Old friend from academy, gennin, 10 yrs old

Ishi Tansei: Hana's cousin, old academy friend, gennin, 10 yrs old

Ekiyuu: Nice old lady from the Stone council, approx. 70 yrs old

Ishi Benkeino: Tsuchikage, Hana's father, approx. 35-40 yrs old

I hope that helps.

* * *

**_Chapter 5: Time Wasted_**

"Kita! We need help!" yelled Rosuto. The cart and his team were surrounded by a monstrous group of bandits.

The silver-haired girl snapped to and slid out from under the cart. She stared around at the number before backing up against Yanagi and Sora.

"Ah, so this must be the infamous Nekomata-child." A man stepped out from the bandits. He was a missing-nin by the looks of it, a tattered Stone headband with a long scratch through the symbol hung off his shoulder.

"Tell me what you want with her." Rosuto placed a protective arm in front of Kita and sized up the situation. It was possible that he could take on a number of them, maybe even all of them, but there was no way to keep them focussed on him when the rest of his team was here.

"There is a large sum of money being offered for her capture." The man smirked. His coal-black eyes looked Kita up and down greedily. "We've been tracking her for the past few days now, ever since we heard about her recovery."

Rosuto's eyebrows twitched. "How sick and twisted," he commented darkly.

"Perhaps, but the money is too good to pass up." The man's body shook with laughter. He slowed down and took a breath. "I have not introduced myself, have I? I am known as Jet, the leader of the Night Bandits. Jet-sama will do fine for you to call me by, not that you will be here long enough to use it though." He clicked his fingers.

Kita was suddenly surrounded by five of the group- there was nowhere for her to run. Her eyes flashed around wildly. _What do I do! I haven't had enough training to take on people like this! _

Before she could react, a fist flew through the air and slammed into Kita's jaw, sending her sliding across the ground.

As she fell to the ground, her eyes looked around in hope of some help. There was no chance. She saw Sora and Yanagi facing off against groups of their own and the rest of the bandits were keeping Rosuto busy. They jumped to crush him under a pile of bodies, but the jounin leapt out of the way, sending a series of shuriken at them and taking out a few.

The man who had just punched Kita chuckled, "I didn't think it'd be so easy."

_I'm not going to give up,_ Kita thought and pulled herself to her feet. Her head was pounding. Another fist came her way and Kita dodged just in time. As she dodged, she was slammed by another fist. Her eyesight wavered. _I can't seem to concentrate... _

"Kita! Hang on!" yelled Rosuto, kicking one of the bandits in the side. He heard the man's rib crack under his foot. From his place, he could see Kita was faring badly. Rosuto swore to himself and punched another man in the gut.

"Rapid Spiral Punch!" yelled Kita. She launched her chakra-covered fist at the man in front of her.

Her feet were swept out from under her by a pole that one of the bandits was using. Kita fell awkwardly onto her stomach, her face hitting the hard-packed dirt.

"What a pathetic attack. Looks like you're down for the count, girly," grinned the man Kita had tried to punch. He gave her a swift kick to the gut.

_Why... _Kita wondered as she felt her consciousness fade in and out as the bandits around her laughed. _Why am I so pathetic? I could have trained so much harder when I was young instead of sleeping around and playing... All I have to show for my work is a worthless punch... Please don't die everyone... Please..._

_Pathetic..._ snarled a voice. _Next time something like this happens, I'm taking over..._

_I'm sorry... I'll try harder... next time... _Kita's mind went blank.

* * *

"Dammit!" shouted Yanagi, spotting Kita go down. "Sora! We have to help Kita! Finish up with those guys already!" 

Sora looked over and he gasped. "Alright, I'm coming!" Quickly, he performed a new jutsu, placing what he had of his bloodline's power behind it. "_Kanashibari no jutsu_!"

The bandits running at him froze and Sora immediately leapt out of their way. Within a few seconds, the technique wore off, sending the bandits into each other. Out of sheer dumb luck, they all cracked heads and fell down, unconscious. Sora grinned and gave thumbs up at Yanagi.

Yanagi grinned back and decided it was her turn to show off. "_Ochiba no mai_!" Her steel fans clacked shut. Suddenly Yanagi jumped up to the head heights of the bandits and started to send a torrent of rapid hits to their heads, using the heavy weight of the closed fans to strike them down.

There were several fractured skulls and comatose bandits after she was done with them. She nodded in satisfaction and then started running towards Kita with Sora by her side.

"We need to take them out all at once!" Sora said to Yanagi aa they prepared to attack.

"Where do you think you're going?" mused a deep voice. Jet appeared in front of them with a weighty-looking staff. He struck out at it and slammed it into Sora's side. The blue haired boy gave a cry and was sent hurling into Yanagi. The two skidded along the ground and into a tree. Jet repositioned himself from the attack. "Nobody is getting past me, especially not brats like you!"

"_Doton; Retsudontensho_!"

The ground shattered apart as rock spikes spiralled up from the ground, throwing bandits through the air and piercing many.

"The hell! No!" A rock spike wrapped up and caught Jet around the leg. It continued to crawl up his leg like ivy until he was trapped up to his neck. The missing-nin swore angrily and struggled, but to no avail.

"Finally..." Rosuto took his palm off of the ground and wiped the dust off. With all the bandits attacking him before, he hadn't been able to find the time needed to perform the hand seals. He leapt over to where Kita was; a spiral of rock had twisted around her body and lifted her up into the air away from harm. Her attackers were either dead, trapped, or limping away.

Sora rubbed his head and sat up. He winced and gingerly felt his ribs. He leaned over to shake his team mate. "Yanagi-chan, you okay?"

The black-haired girl opened her blue eyes and sat up. She placed a hand to her forehead. "Yeah, but that hurt."

"Sora, Yanagi!" Rosuto called. The two looked over at him. "Come get Kita out of this whilst I 'talk' to this Jet guy..."

Sora shakily rose up and helped Yanagi to her feet.

Rosuto strode over to Jet, who continued to struggle. "I want to know: who's the one offering the reward, and why do they want her?"

Jet's top lip curled up. He spat at the jounin. "I don't know. It's some group or something. We just heard a rumour. Now get me out of this, and I promise we'll leave the girl alone."

Rosuto wiped the spittle off of his cheek and frowned. "That's all well and good for you, but there's others out there aren't there? So, alright, I'll get you out of there, but you do realise you're a missing-nin, don't you? I need to take you back to Iwagakure for your fate to be decided."

Jet's eyes widened as Rosuto put a fist into his face and made him pass out. Rosuto sighed and started to break him out.

"Yanagi-chan..." Sora whispered as they pulled Kita's limp form free finally. "Why'd you want to help her? You could have just left her and focussed on your own battle."

Yanagi glimpsed away guiltily for a second. "I dunno... Just drop it, okay?"

Sora gave her a small smile. Though she was a bit stuck-up on the outside, she still remembered the past.

Rosuto appeared next to them, carrying Jet's body on his side. He grabbed Kita up and slung her over his shoulder. "Alright, let's get back to Hidden Stone."

"But what about the mission, Rosuto-sensei?" Yanagi asked. She glowered. "Stupid bandits, because of them we don't even get to complete our first mission!" She looked close to hitting Jet over the head several times, despite his unconsciousness.

The jounin sighed. "A pity, yes, but never mind now. You helped to take down a missing-nin though, which should look pretty good on your record."

Yanagi blinked and then grinned. "Awesome!" She laughed proudly. "Not many genin can say they've done that!"

Sora nodded and grinned as well. His grinned waned as he looked at Kita.

"She'll be okay, Sora." Rosuto said, noticing his glance. "Let's just hurry and get back."

* * *

**A few hours later...**

Kita frowned as she felt something being jabbed into her arm. She opened her eyes and saw a nurse withdrawing a needle full of blood from her skin.

"What are you doing that for?" Kita asked weakly. She gingerly felt the bandage over her cheek where the kunai had cut her and winced.

The nurse, which Kita remembered as being the matron that had hassled her and her father for being out in the snow, placed the needle down on a tray. "You took a pretty bad beating, from what I heard, Kita-chan. I'm just giving you a check-up, so don't be concerned." The matron placed a bed-table on Kita's lap and put a tray of food on it. "I know what you're like, so I ordered something special for you."

Kita's eyes sparkled as the matron lifted up the lid. A rare steak and a strawberry milkshake sat waiting for her. She dove into it immediately.

The matron hid back a smile. "I wasn't sure if you liked seafood, so I just stuck with the steak."

"That's okay, steak is my favourite!" Kita said between bites. She quickly downed the milkshake as well and gave a small burp. "Oops, sorry. Thank you so much for this."

The matron smiled gently. "There's not many people who try to understand you, Kita-chan. So I'm trying to make up for that."

Kita looked up at the woman and smiled back. She had gained another friend.

* * *

**In the Tsuchikage's office...**

Rosuto frowned worriedly as he sat with the Tsuchikage and Ekiyuu.

Ekiyuu clutched at a handkerchief in her wrinkled hands. "Just when we think we have solved everything, a new problem arises. Kita may never be able to have peace in her life."

Benkeino patted her gently on the shoulder. He was a lot more caring than his appearance gave him credit for. "Ekiyuu-san, we knew things like this would happen eventually, although not so quickly. What I want to know is; who are the people who want her so badly?"

"Jet said it was only a rumour, but there must be more information than that if someone actually acted upon it." Rosuto interjected. "Though, the mere mention of a cash reward is enough to drive some people to acting so brashly." He gave a slight sigh of worry. "I was too lazy and I got Kita hurt because of it."

"She'll be okay, in time," the Tsuchikage reassured him. "What Kita really needs at the moment is training to protect herself; but I know that many of the other councillors would object to any advanced training because of the Nekomata. They are already scared enough of what will happen after her bloodline manifests."

"That's one power we don't want the Nibi to have... Especially if it already knows because of what the legend says." Ekiyuu's hands tightened around her handkerchief.

"Legend?" asked Rosuto abruptly. He paused. "Hissori had once told me something about it, but it was so long ago..."

The old woman took in a small breath before she started. "There was once a legend among the Mitsukai clan members about the origins of their bloodline; the story said that they received their powers from Shinigami himself, so that they would become his 'Angels of Death' in the afterlife. That is how the clan earned their nickname. There is also another legend that says that the Nekomata is the Shinigami's personal pet..."

"If they are correct," added Benkeino, "And if the Nekomata knew and were to gain such powers, it could mean the end for the Hidden Stone, and maybe even the rest of the Earth Country."

Rosuto gulped.

"But for now, we must keep a closer eye on Kita. Rosuto, keep your guard up from now on. Don't get lax; you don't have the time for it anymore." The Tsuchikage waited for the jounin to nod his understanding.

* * *

**Back at the hospital...**

"Kita-chan, you have a visitor," announced the matron and opened the door wider.

Kita's father stepped inside. Kita jumped out of bed and into his arms. "Hey there, you should be resting." Hissori gently picked her up and placed her back in bed.

The genin blinked with purple eyes. "I'm okay, Dad. How'd your mission go?"

Hissori smiled. "I was there a little longer than expected, but it turned out okay in the end. I'm sorry I was late."

"It's alright," Kita replied sincerely. She gave a cat-like yawn.

Hissori pulled the covers up. "Get some rest. I'll be back later after I talk to Rosuto."

Kita yawned again. "Don't be angry with him..." She fell asleep before she could finish.

Her father sighed. "I'll try."

* * *

**A/N: **. A lot more action this time! Sorry for the delay as well, I went on holiday for a couple of weeks, then to Animania in Sydney. I cosplayed as Tsunade and got nominated for Most Original Cosplay. :3 Next year I'm gonna win! (Well, I hope so at least!) 

**Names Used:**

**Jet:** Since he's not all that important overall, he didn't get a proper, evil-ish name :P He's a jerk anyway.

**Jutsu Used:**

**Kanashibari no jutsu **_(Temporary Paralysis Technique)_ (Ninjutsu) (D rank) According to the official justu list: Used to cause one's opponent to lose the advantage of movement. Freezing them in their tracks, this Jutsu creates an opening for a more dangerous attack.

This jutsu is short to mid-range, and is known by most ANBU, as seen in the manga. The Kigaino clan teach this technique to their children early, and when combined with the clan's bloodline, it can be used to paralyse more than one enemy, almost like a weaker version of _Nehan Shoja no Jutsu_, the technique Kabuto used at the chuunin exam.

**Ochiba no mai** _(Dance of the Fallen Leaves)_(Taijutsu- tool attack) (E rank) (No hand seals) A steel fan-based attack that uses the weight of the closed fan to hit someone on the head multiple times. (Created by Jotei Yanagi)

This attack is still being perfected by Yanagi, but it seems to work. The name seems to suit too as the attack can cause fractured skulls and instant comatose.

**Doton; Retsudontensho **_(Earth Element; Revolving Split Earth Palm)_(Ninjutsu) (Earth element) (C rank) According to the official justu list: This technique allows the ninja to control nearby stone and rock. When the ninja forms the needed handseals and slams their palm to the ground, surrounding rock will begin to churn and twist up crushing all those trapped within it.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Till next time:D **


	6. Kitty Senses Tingling?

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Yes, I'm poking a little bit of fun at Spiderman here with the title. :3 Spiderman is so awesome. hums the old tv show's theme song Spiderman, Spiderman, friendly neighbourhood Spiderman... (Yeee!) I also poke a bit of fun at squirrels, who we all know are evil (I'm sure you've all seen the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by now!).

* * *

**_Chapter 6: Kitty-Senses Tingling?_**

**The next day...**

The matron slowly peeled away the bandage over Kita's cheek. She smiled. "Well, just as I thought; it's all healed."

Kita grinned. "I feel a whole lot better today!"

"That's good," nodded the nurse. "Oh, and a letter came for you while you were sleeping. I believe it's from that boy in your team, Kigaino Sora?" She held out an envelope.

Kita opened the envelope and started to read silently.

_Hey Kita, it's Sora! _

_I hope you're feeling better now after that battle. I'm sorry I didn't help out, truly I am! But we're alright now, thanks to Rosuto-sensei. I'm glad he was there. Oh, there's something I wanted to tell you. Please don't think Yanagi-chan is as stuck up as she seems, she was really worried about you after you got knocked out! Anyway, I reckon we should all go do some training together. We owe our sensei big time! Your nurse told me you'd be okay by today, so if it's okay with you, come out to the waterfall where we used to go when we were little. I hope you'll come. _

–_The ever-awesome dude of the hour, Sora ;D_

"That Sora boy seems pretty nice, though strange. So, you think you'll go?" The matron peeped over her shoulder.

"I suppose so; I do need to train after all." Kita gave a sigh. "Um, have you got my clothes? I should head out before it gets too late."

The nurse pulled out Kita's clothes from the cupboard. "Here they are. I tired to patch them up for you, they got a bit torn. Oh, and your father dropped a jacket in when he came by."

Kita suddenly realised something about her nurse. "Have you... just been looking after me this entire time?"

"Well, yes, I suppose so." The matron shrugged slightly.

"Wow, that's so nice of you. And, um, I don't even know your name." Kita looked up at her with a blush of embarassment.

The nurse laughed. "You have been pretty much knocked out or asleep most of the time, so no wonder. You may call me Bara-san."

"Bara-san? That's a pretty name." Kita started to pull on her clothes.

"Thank you, Kita-chan. Now, don't overdo it when you're training today, I don't want to see you again for at least a week." Bara smirked and helped Kita with her shoes.

Kita gave a cat-like smile as she pulled on her jacket. She jumped out of bed and headed for the door. "Of course not! I'm gonna work hard though! See ya, Bara-san, and thank you!"

"See you later, Kita-chan." Bara waved as Kita left. She turned around and started to pull the covers off the bed to take them to the laundry. She sighed. _Somehow, I have a sinking feeling that I'll be seeing her sooner rather than later... That girl seems destined for trouble.

* * *

_

Kita pulled up the hood of her jacket before she started to run through the town. The hood hid her well-recognised hair colour and made her less inconspicuous in the crowds. She looked up at Iwa Tower in the near distance, where the village's famous quartz clock was. It sparkled in the morning sunlight as Kita saw that it was already eight o'clock. Kita kicked up her speed. The waterfall place was a far way off from the centre of town, and was well-hidden, as it required the seeker to go through an old and forgotten tunnel that went to the other side of the mountain. But the view was worth it in the end, and it made a good training area.

Kita wiped her brow as she finally left the outskirts of town and reached the tunnel. She estimated it was at least 9 o'clock by now. Kita pulled down her hood and brushed aside the bushes that hid the tunnel. She entered the humid air of the tunnel and was only slightly surprised when she realised she could see everything, even in the dark. She saw movement down the far end. Kita grinned and ran.

"Sora!" she yelled.

The blue haired boy gave a yelp. "Who's there?" He saw a pair of reflective eyes, and though he was slightly freaked out by them, he gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's you Kita. How are you feeling?"

"I'm much better now, thanks." Kita grabbed Sora's hand and started to help him through the tunnel; by the looks of his pants, he'd had trouble picking his way over the rocks that lay on the path.

After a few minutes, a light ahead of them signalled that they had come to the end of the tunnel. Sora pushed the bushes aside and helped Kita out.

The place was almost exactly like it had been since Kita last visited. A narrow river of water cascaded down the mountain and off a cliff into a clear reflective pool. The river continued down the slope and away towards the sea, which laid somewhere off the coast of some faraway country. Large deciduous trees grew in scattered groups, their leaves beginning to grow bright and green with the season. The grass was pale and long, though cropped short in some places from where mountain goats and deer had been eating.

"It took you long enough!" exclaimed a familiar voice, breaking Kita's gaze at the scenery and causing her to look up into a tree. Yanagi sat on a branch above them, twirling her fans around in her fingers. "I was starting to think you weren't going to come!" She climbed down to face her team mates.

"Oh, you knew I'd be here, Yanagi-chan!" Sora jumped beside her and grabbed her hand, rubbing it against his cheek.

The black haired girl sighed, then slapped him across the face with her free hand. "Are you going to train, or act all lovey-dovey all day?"

Sora gave her a hurtful, yet cute, pout.

"Uh, Yanagi?" asked Kita.

"Yes, what?" snapped Yanagi demandingly.

"Oh, um, never mind..." Kita gave a weak smile. She had wanted to say thanks for caring about her the other day...

"Well, stop wasting my time then. We need to start training." Yanagi crossed her arms. "Anyway, I'm going to go practise throwing kunai and shuriken. Don't get in way, or else you'll get hit." She walked off.

Kita's brow gave a twitch of a frown. _I don't think I'll understand her..._

"Hey, Kita," Sora interrupted her thought. "How's your _henge_ been going? You must have been able to pull off a proper one if you passed the test."

Kita sweat-dropped. "If anything, that was a complete fluke. Look, I'll show you. _Henge_!" Kita placed her hands together into the seal and transformed into a replication of Sora, albeit with a tail and cat paws for hands. She transformed back and shrugged.

Sora gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Hey, not every ninja is perfect. It must just mean you're better at other things."

"Hm, maybe..." she replied doubtfully. Suddenly, her body stiffened.

Sora noticed. "What is it?"

"I thought I heard something." Kita quickly looked around. "Heh, must be Yanagi."

"Probably," agreed Sora. "Come on, let's start. I'll give you a sparring match!"

"Alright!" Kita slid into a fighter's stance.

* * *

**Later...**

Kita and Sora flopped down, exhausted. They had just been throwing stones at each other to try and see how quick they could react to avoid being hit. Needless to say, the bruises proved they need train more.

Yanagi raised an eyebrow as she wandered over. "I bet you guys forgot to bring lunch, huh?"

Sora pulled something that looked like sandwich out of his pocket. "I dunno if this counts. It's been in there for about a week now."

Kita and Yanagi looked like they were about to gag. Sora threw the sandwich into the river.

Yanagi sniffed and flipped back her long black hair. "Luckily for you two, I packed a picnic."

Sora glomped Yanagi. "Oh, Yanagi-chan! You do care about me!"

"No, I just figured you two would be too stupid to remember. Now please, get off me before I have to use the fans on you." Sora got off and Yanagi reached under a bush to pull out a picnic basket. She set down a red and white chequered blanket and set out a pile of sandwiches and drink. She held up a sandwich at Kita. "I just know you'll love this, Kita."

"What is it?" Kita asked curiously as they sat down.

Yanagi unwrapped it and waved it to waft the scent towards Kita. "Mmm, tuna, isn't it just lovely?"

"Hey, you know I hate tuna!" Kita frowned momentarily. Her eyes followed the sandwich as Yanagi waved it before her.

The girl smirked. "Sure you do, Kitty. Mmm, num-num, tuna!"

Kita's nose twitched as the smell became more and more enticing. Despite her hate of most types of seafood, something was telling her to have it. Kita gritted her teeth and grabbed it, diving into it and taking large mouthfuls.

Yanagi gave a short laugh. "See, told ya."

Kita gulped down the last of it. "Gah, that was horrible!" She washed the taste out of her mouth with some of the juice Yanagi had brought. Kita sent her a death-stare.

Yanagi just winked at her and ate her own sandwich.

"So, what should we do after this?" asked Sora with a mouth full of sandwich.

"I'd like to have a spar with Kita," said Yanagi suddenly.

The silvery-haired girl blinked. "Wha...? Why?"

"Well, it's not like you have anything better to do. So?" Yanagi looked sideways at her.

Kita shrugged. "Okay, I suppose so."

"Good." Yanagi took a sip of juice.

Sora pouted. "What am I supposed to do then?"

The black haired girl flapped her hand. "Go practise your genjutsu on a squirrel or something."

"But squirrels are evil!" Sora protested. Yanagi shot him a dark look. Sora gulped. "Oh, alright..." He trudged off, leaving Kita and Yanagi alone.

"Well..." Yanagi stood up. "Let's get started then." She looked down at Kita, who was acting strange. "What's up with you?"

Kita twitched her head, then looked back at Yanagi. She seemed edgy. "I dunno. I'm getting this weird vibe."

"Whatever, come on!" Yanagi aimed a roundhouse kick at her.

Kita saw it coming and rolled backwards to avoid it. She leapt to her feet. "I'm serious, Yanagi!"

"Your kitty-senses are tingling, huh?" Yanagi laughed. "It must be some yummy bird flying around." She pushed forward, aiming punches and kicks at her team mate.

Kita frowned at the insult. There was no time to respond as Yanagi pushed her back; she was at a disadvantage as Yanagi was higher on the slope than she was. Kita could only defend herself as the other girl came at her. For another minute, Kita blocked, dodged, and took hits from Yanagi. Suddenly, her feet went out from under her as she fell backwards on some unseen obstacle.

Yanagi put her hands on her hips. "You're hopeless, Kita. Weren't you... huh? What is that?"

Kita sat up; she was sitting on something furry. She looked down, her hand was wet. Her eyes widened as she saw blood covering her hand. Quickly, she jumped up and backed away. It was a large mountain goat, dead with slashes all over its body. "Kami-sama," whispered Kita, "what did this?"

Yanagi inspected it. "Well, there are mountain lions and bears around here."

Kita backed up a little more. "I don't think it was a bear or mountain lion, Yanagi."

"What else could it have been? Come on, let's get out of here, it stinks something awful. And you're covered in it, gross!" Yanagi started her way up the slope again.

Kita glanced back at the dead animal before reluctantly following her team mate. She felt chills go up and down her spine. Something wasn't right.

* * *

When they reached the river a few minutes later, Kita washed the blood off her hands. Yanagi stood a few metres away, looking at her reflection in the flowing water and fixing her hair. Apart from the waterfall, the place was silent. 

A twig snapped.

Kita leapt to her feet and turned to look around warily. "Yanagi," she whispered.

Yanagi stood up and frowned. "Sora! Don't be stupid, we know it's you!"

There was no reply.

The black haired girl gave a 'humph' and turned back to the river. "Moron," she mumbled.

Another twig snapped, and this time Yanagi felt chills down her spine as well. She turned to look up at Kita. The girl was completely frozen, staring forward with eyes wide open. Yanagi gulped and slowly turned to see what Kita was staring at. When she saw, her blood ran cold.

"Sora!" cried Yanagi.

* * *

**A/N: **Eeep! Just when you thought it was going to be a normal day too! 

**About the Names: **

**Nurse Bara- **Bara means 'rose'. She's sweet like a rose, but she's got thorns too. And it always seems to me that fictional nurses have got flower names... .

**Jutsu Used: **

None this time, sorry. I promise some next chapter though!

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review please. **


	7. On the Edge of a Blade

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Alright, alright... I'm updating it quicker this time because it was such a big cliffhanger in the last chapter. Hahaha, I proclaim myself Queen of the Cliffhangers! -gets bapped by random readers carrying cardboard tubes-

* * *

**_Chapter 7: On the Edge of a Blade _**

Sora's body landed on the ground with a thump. He slid forward to rest at the girls' feet. The blue haired boy gave a small groan.

Yanagi glared at the man who had just thrown her team mate. He was a large, heavily muscled man with shaggy, coarse black hair. His eyes were a dark shade of brown, though they almost looked red. A tattered headband was tied around his neck; the symbol on the front was too scratched to be read.

The arm that the man had used to throw Sora moved down to his side, where a large, curved broadsword was. The sword was different from other swords; it looked like a jagged saw at the same time that it looked like a sword. Small tassels hung off the jagged edge of the blade; they were soaked in blood. Now the two girls knew what had killed that mountain goat.

The man gave a grin. "I see you brats are admiring my Ghost Head Sword, eh?"

Kita found herself talking. "Who are you?"

The man's grin widened. "I am Hasaki, missing-jounin of the Hidden Cloud."

"What are you doing here then? And why'd you attack Sora!" Kita demanded. She was afraid, but she wanted to know why.

"I'm a missing-nin, I go where I please. And this place was a nice hideout, until you brats came along. You're lucky he's still alive, but then again, not so lucky, since I'm going to kill you anyway." The man that called himself Hasaki held out his blade. The metal glinted coldly. "Ready to die?" He asked, his grin so wide it was frightening.

The wind blew silently past the three genin.

Kita felt her body go numb as the swordsman said those words. _Ready to die...? I can't die yet!_

Hasaki approached them, his Ghost Head Sword in hand. A look of shear delight was plastered across his face.

_He's a madman..._ thought Yanagi, shivering.

"How amusing it will be to see your bodies laying, bleeding on the ground." Hasaki mused to himself, pausing to run his blade through a tree. "It'll be much more fun than watching those stupid mountain goats die. They don't scream so well..."

Kita looked across at Yanagi, who was bent over Sora's barely-conscious form. "Yanagi, help Sora out of here. I'll keep him busy while you run to the tower to get help."

Yanagi stared up at her, her mouth gaping. "No way, he'll kill you before we could even reach the end of the tunnel! We'll just have to fight him together as a team. And if we lose... then at least we tried."

Sora groaned and sat up. "I'll- I'll help too."

"Sora, you're in no condition," Yanagi retorted.

"Watch out!" cried Kita as Hasaki started to run at them, sword out by his side. Just before Hasaki could launch his attack, a kunai forced him to jump back. Kita had thrown it just in time. She leapt over to her team mates and faced the missing-nin. "Don't you dare come near them!" She pulled out two more kunai, holding them in each hand.

"You sure don't die easily," commented Hasaki, rubbing his free hand against the stubble on his face. "But that makes it all the worth while. Say, why don't we make this interesting?" He stuck his sword into the ground. "I'll give you a free shot, that's if you're willing to take it, of course..."

Yanagi stood up beside Kita, her steel fans at the ready. "Let's attack him together."

Kita nodded and took off with Yanagi at her side. As they came near, they leapt into the air.

"Ha! You brats are gullible!" yelled Hasaki suddenly, pulling his sword out of the ground and swinging it up towards the two genin.

"_Kanashibari no jutsu!_" shouted Sora, sending his paralysing technique at the swordsman. It hit, freezing him just before he could strike down at the girls. "Hurry!" he cried. "Get out of there!"

"Not yet!" yelled Kita, throwing her kunai, which embedded themselves in Hasaki's shoulder.

"Take this!" shouted Yanagi, kicking the sword out of Hasaki's hand. It flew away and stuck itself in a tree.

Sora cringed as he kept pushing his bloodline's psychic powers into the jutsu. "I can't hold it much longer!"

"One more thing! _Doton; Doro Kensei no jutsu!_" Kita sent the missing-nin waist-deep into a bog of mud, which hardened immediately.

"And this!" Yanagi slipped her fans away and started some hand seals. "_Doton; Iwa kougake no jutsu!_" The earth around Hasaki snaked up to his wrists and formed itself into two giant rocks. The weight pulled his arms down.

Sora's technique finally wore off. The boy flopped over onto his back, feeling faint.

Hasaki snapped out of it. He swore as he saw the predicament he was in and struggled, but to no avail. "What have you brats done?"

Kita and Yanagi backed off and smirked. "We win!" They said in unison, before giving poking their tongues out at him and pulling down their bottom eyelids.

"Let's get out of here," said Yanagi victoriously, "I think he'll be trapped there for a while."

They both turned back. Yanagi helped Sora to his feet and supported him on her shoulder.

"_Raiton; Rai Bakufuu no jutsu!_"

The ground shook as a lightning exploded around Hasaki's form. The earth around him burst open and the jounin leapt out.

"You didn't really think such pathetic jutsu would work on me, did you, eh? I got your hopes up, eh? Heh, you're nothing but kids!" He pointed at the newly formed pit he had created with his attack. "See that hole? That's where I'm going to dump your little corpses when I'm through with you!"

In a flash he was upon them. A large fist flew towards Yanagi and Sora. Kita threw a punch of her own, deflecting Hasaki's hand just enough to barely breeze past her team mates. "I told you before- don't come near them!" she yelled.

"If you're going to be a hero, then you get what you deserve," replied the missing-nin, throwing a kick at her. Kita received a foot across the jaw, sending her flying away.

"Kita!"

Kita held her throbbing jaw briefly before charging back towards Hasaki. "Yanagi! Sora! Go! Head to the tunnel, it's too small for him to get through!"

The two hesitated.

"Just go!" yelled Kita, barely dodging another punch. "I'll run after you get through!"

Yanagi nodded and started to hobble with Sora away towards the exit.

"You're lucky I'm still stiff just waking up," Hasaki growled threateningly, "otherwise you'd already be dead by now."

Kita gritted her teeth. _I can't just keep defending myself! I need to attack back!_ Silently, Kita started to time Hasaki's punches until she found an opening. "Rapid Spiral Punch!"

With her hand covered in chakra, Kita sent a spiralling flurry of blows towards Hasaki.

A knee came up and slammed her in the stomach. Winded, Kita doubled over and gasped for air. Hasaki grabbed her by the wrists and held her up. "Learn to use all of your body, brat. Now, time to die. I'm going to snap you like a twig!"

The missing-nin threw Kita over his knee and started to bend her back. The girl screamed in pain.

"No!" screamed Yanagi, letting go of Sora and throwing shuriken at him.

Hasaki was forced to drop Kita as the metal stars flew at him. The silver-haired girl landed heavily on the dirt. Yanagi pulled out her fans and ran at him with a cry of anger.

The missing-nin created a chain of hand seals. "_Raiton;_ _Rai gesuidou__ no jutsu!_"

A bolt of electricity shot out of Hasaki's fingers towards the approaching genin. The current slammed her in the chest and wrapped around her body, paralysing her to the spot. Yanagi strained to gain control, but her muscles were twitching too much from the shock.

Hasaki walked over to his blade and picked it up before making his way towards Yanagi. He grinned madly. "Looks like I win... time to pay up."

He pulled his sword back, aiming for her stomach.

Yanagi's eyes widened as the blade flew forward. There was nothing she could do... She closed her eyes, praying silently.

Suddenly, she hit the ground. The sound of metal ripping through flesh was heard. Yanagi felt water splatter onto her face. No, she sniffed the air as it dribbled down her face. It wasn't water; it was blood.

"Kita!" yelled Sora from behind her.

Yanagi opened her eyes and stared up in disbelief. "Kita...?"

Before her, she could only see Kita's back. Hasaki's sword ran right through her body, the shining metal sticking out of her back. Blood flowed, puddling under her and running down the slope beneath Hasaki's feet.

"Well, this is interesting," mused Hasaki, pleased at the sight. "You sacrificed yourself for you friend, but she's going to die anyway, you know that?"

Kita coughed up droplets of blood as she tried to breathe. She could feel her body slowly shutting down.

"Kita!" cried Yanagi, tears forming in her eyes. "Idiot, why'd you do that? Why?"

The blood-stained girl strained her head back to gaze with wet eyes at her team mate. "I guess I can't forget the past, Yanagi, just like you..."

She turned her head forward again.

"I'm sorry..." Her voice trailed off as she took her last breath and her body slumped over.

"Kita!" her team mates screamed.

Hasaki gave them a shrug and a smile. "That's the end of your friend Kita. I suppose I'd better dispose of the body for you. A funeral is in order... nothing fancy though." Hasaki swung his sword away, intending to throw Kita's body off.

The corpse held fast, however.

The missing-nin growled and shook the sword again, but with no results once more. "The hell? Get off already!" Hasaki brought his sword back in front of him and clamped a large hand over Kita's face before trying to slide the body off.

As he did, another hand shot up and latched onto his wrist. Kita started to breathe again as the wound started to heal, pushing the blade out of her stomach until it dropped to the ground with a dull clang. From under Hasaki's hand, Kita's eyes shot open, revealing slit pupils and golden yellow irises.

Hasaki let go of her in shock. Kita landed on all fours like a cat. She tilted her head up and grinned at him, showing lengthening canines. On her forehead, a broken symbol that seemed to resemble the kanji for 'seal' appeared. Black outlines grew out from it, writing themselves all around her body. On her hands, long sharp claw-like nails sprouted.

Hasaki grabbed up his Ghost Head Sword and swung at her.

Kita ducked it; somehow flattening her body to the ground with new-found flexibility. "So you were the one who killed my host," she purred, gazing at the missing-nin mischievously. "You're very troublesome, nyan?" She got back onto all fours and stretched herself out, giving a cat-like yawn. "Maybe I should take you out? That'd be fun."

Hasaki's face twitched. "Don't mock me!" he roared, slashing his sword at her.

Kita rolled to the side and leapt over the blade, swiping at Hasaki with her new claws. She left four deep gashes across his face. The man gave a shout of pain.

"Wench! How dare you! _Raiton; Rai gesuidou__ no jutsu!_" A bolt of lightning flew at Kita.

The girl held up a hand and caught it in her palm. She looked it over before throwing it away into the dirt. "Such a weak jutsu, you won't beat me with such pathetic attacks."

Filled with rage, Hasaki charged at her, sword in hand. He took a swing; Kita sidestepped it. Another swing; Kita ducked under it. He kept slashing at her, intent on killing seeing his blade through her body again.

"Sora," whispered Yanagi, edging towards him. "That's... that's not Kita, is it?"

Sora shook his head, continuing to watch the amazing battle. "It's not. It could only be one thing."

"Nibi no Nekomata..." replied Yanagi quietly.

"You're getting very boring," yawned Kita, easily dodging another slash. "And this body is very cumbersome. I should end this."

Fiery black chakra burst out of the kanji on Kita's body and wrapped around her. Kita's body twisted and turned under the black fire. The chakra exploded out into a large, black fireball, far larger than Hasaki was. An echoing laugh rumbled out from the centre of the energy.

Hasaki's eyes widened as he saw what was inside the black flames. "A bijuu... just like... the red clouds... the red clouds!" His eyes rolled madly.

A pair of large, smiling golden eyes looked down on him. "Indeed... But now... it is the end."

Hasaki screamed as a giant paw emerged out of the flames and touched him on the forehead. His body dropped to the ground, instantly dead. A silvery outline appeared where he had just been standing. It slowly came into focus; it was his ghost. The man looked up at the flames and quivered.

_No, please spare me!_ He begged in a ghostly voice.

"I see your soul, and all the acts you have performed. How dare you plead for your life before me when you did not spare those who pleaded for their own! Now you shall suffer like they have!"

Black chakra tore open a hole beneath Hasaki's soul. Red flames erupted out of the hole, grabbing onto Hasaki. He shrieked in terror as some unforseen force dragged him downwards. The hole closed up before anymore of his fate was seen. The Nekomata smirked in pleasure and turned around to face the two children it recognised as being her former host's team mates. The black chakra burst off, revealing its true form; a gigantic panther-like creature with silver markings running along its back and limbs. Two tails emerged from the base of its spine; they waved in amusement.

Yanagi and Sora gulped.

"Do you care about her?" it asked suddenly.

The two blinked. "What?"

* * *

**A/N: **Whoo! More cliffhanging-ness fun! :D does an ebil little dance 

**About the Names: **

**Hasaki- **Hasaki roughly means the edge of a blade. It's a direct reference to his Ghost Head Sword, which by the way, is a real sword, and is quite scary looking.

**Jutsu Used: **

**Doton; Iwa kougake no jutsu** _(Earth Element; Rock Gauntlets)_(Ninjutsu) (Earth Element) (D rank) (Four hand seals) An earth technique that causes earth to form around an enemy's wrists and become heavy gauntlets.

Like the _Doro Kensei_ jutsu, this attack is useless if the enemy has quick reactions and is able to leap away from the earth. But when it works, the weight of the rocks impedes the enemy considerably.

**Raiton; Rai Bakufuu no jutsu**_ (Lightning Element; Lightning Blast)_(Ninjutsu) (Lightning Element) (B rank) A lightning technique that creates a powerful electrical blast of energy.

This lightning jutsu requires a high burst of chakra in order to generate power, and to be able to give it its destructive force, the user must be skilled in lightning jutsu, creating a positive and negative stream of chakra-electricity, and then shorting them out against each other. If the user isn't experienced enough, they could electrocute themselves.

**Raiton; Rai gesuidou**** no jutsu**_ (Lightning Element; Lightning Drain)_(Ninjutsu) (Lightning Element) (B rank) (Eight hand seals) An electrical paralysing technique that drains the opponent of their ability to use their muscles to move properly.

This technique is a crude derivative of the technique used by medic-nins like Tsunade to stop the muscles from functioning. It doesn't exactly do the same thing to confuse the nerves, but it's good for stopping a ninja in their tracks for a while.

**Leave a review please:D And see you next time! **


	8. A Brush with Death Himself

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Ooh, this chapter is so cool! Yee :D Bet you never saw all this coming!

* * *

**_Chapter 8: A Brush with Death Himself_**

The two blinked. "What?"

The Nibi gazed down at them with a sneer. "The host, the one you called Kita. When she passed, she placed her will upon me. It was her dying wish that I protect the ones who cared for her. Was she right in saying you cared for her?"

"Kita's my friend; of course I cared for her," Sora answered first without hesitation.

Yanagi stared up into the bijuu's golden eyes. She glanced at the ground, remembering the Kita she had known many years ago, and then the Kita that had looked back at her with tear-filled eyes. "I know I didn't show it," she whispered, "but yes, I did."

"Her wish was justified then." The Nekomata nodded stiffly. The bijuu glanced up at the mountain, knowing what lay behind it; Iwakagure... The Nekomata smirked absentmindedly. _The revenge I seek is close. I can smell the village that I wish to destroy. _It looked down at the children and flicked one of its ears. "You have young, healthy souls and bodies. It would be a delight to feast upon your flesh and spirits."

Sora and Yanagi gulped as the Nibi lowered its head to their level and ran a large red tongue over its teeth. Its seemingly kind manners had disappeared in an instant.

Suddenly, it raised its head and laughed. "However, you are lucky today, children. If it was not for your friend's will being placed upon me, I would have killed you in a second. You are also lucky you have not been placed in the presence of my true form. If you had been, you would have dropped dead on the spot." The cat raised a brow as it grew impatient of the children's confused features. "I hope that you are not in doubt about my abilities. Would you like a demonstration, nyan?" It gave a bone-chilling smile.

Sora bowed hastily. He pushed Yanagi down as well. "We are sorry, Nekomata-sama. We at no point doubted your strength." He glanced up at the beast, who seemed pleased by his formality. "We were just wondering, Nekomata-sama; what of our friend? Could you restore her?"

The Nibi sat on its haunches and picked at its teeth with a large claw. It thoroughly inspected its claw before answering the two. "There is a saying about me that says: 'No creature hath a fury like the Nekomata with a grudge'. And at the moment, I still hold a grudge against your village for revolting against me and sealing me away. I was once the master of this village. The humans worshipped me like a god, because they feared me so. They would even sacrifice themselves to keep me appeased. I have had this grudge for over a hundred and thirty years, and now you ask me to wait by restoring my former host?"

"Please!" Yanagi cried out. She stared up at the bijuu with tears falling down her cheeks. "Please return Kita to us? I know you want to destroy the village... but, please... could you wait? With your great power, it wouldn't matter if it is today, or tomorrow. Please, Nekomata-sama! Could you?"

The cat sneered. "You are pitiful, you know, nyan? Snivelling like that..." Its tone changed suddenly. "But, you are right. Today, tomorrow... it doesn't matter to me, just as long as I destroy the village in the end." It lowered its head again to Yanagi and Sora and started to whisper. "But for the moment, I have been quite amused by you and your little ninja games, and I wish to see where the future takes you. So, I will grant your wish to see your friend again."

Yanagi's hands trembled. "You... you're really going to do that?"

"Yes, however... There will be... implications. Although in short I can send souls immediately to the afterlife, bringing them back is a little harder... There will also be another problem, but Kita will have to sort that out for herself." It closed its eyes briefly. "Leave me here for three days, and then come back. Kita should be restored by then."

Sora stepped forward, stumbling slightly from the injuries he still had. "Nekomata-sama, I don't want to offend you, but how do we know you will keep your word?"

The bijuu sniffed aloofly, then smirked. "I may be a demon, but I still keep my promises. You are from the Kigaino clan, nyan?" Sora nodded. "Yes, I quite remember that clan from long ago... As an example that I keep my word; I have a gift for you."

A red light erupted from underneath Sora and flew into his eyes. Startled, Sora stumbled onto his backside. "Whoa," he gasped for breath. He blinked and a look of dazed realisation dawned on his face. "I can... feel your presence..."

"Yes, if I leave this spot, you will feel my presence vanish. And when Kita returns... well, you will see. Now leave me in peace, brats, before I change my mind." It looked down its nose at the two and sniffed.

Yanagi helped Sora to his feet and together started hobbling towards the tunnel. There was a loud crunch behind them. Yanagi glanced back to see the Nekomata chewing on Hisaki's lifeless body. She shivered and returned back to aiding Sora.

The Nekomata's brow twitched as the genin left. _I'm getting too soft..._ It thought. _Kita... that child... she's had more of an effect on me than I thought... Accursed human emotions... But I must keep my word, and talk to the Master._

Finishing its meal, the Nekomata lay down and closed its golden eyes. A smirk crept over its face.

_Not too long now..._

* * *

"Alright, where is she?" The hospital room's door flew open and a very angry Nurse Bara stormed in. She stomped over to Sora and Yanagi, pushing the nurse that was treating them out of the way and out of the door. She slammed the door shut and confronted the two genin. "Where is Kita-chan?" 

"Uh... she's... er, at home. She didn't get injured," Sora explained nervously.

Bara both gave them a glare that could scare a stampeding elephant herd away. "You're a terrible liar, Sora-kun. I've been a nurse long enough to know that with both your injuries, there is no way Kita could not have gotten into the same kind of trouble. Where is she?"

"I would like to know too, actually." The door slid open wider and Kita's father stepped in. He nodded at the matron. "I didn't know Kita had checked out. One of the receptionists directed me here. Now, would you two like to explain what's happened?"

Sora gulped and looked at Yanagi, then back at the adults facing them. "We... can't really say..."

Hissori sighed and shook his head. "I have a feeling I know this is a Nekomata-related problem. Am I right?" When Yanagi and Sora didn't reply, he bent down to their level. "I'm her father, I deserve to know. And you can trust Nurse Bara too. We're concerned about Kita."

"Alright, I'll tell you." whispered Yanagi. "After what she did... you should know too."

* * *

**A few minutes later...**

"She sacrificed herself for you..." Hissori stared at the ground, eyes wide. "My little girl..." He looked up at Sora and Yanagi. "Are you sure you can trust Nibi? Will it really bring Kita back?"

Yanagi nodded. "I'm pretty sure we can. We'll check back in three days, just like it asked."

Nurse Bara gave a worried sigh.

Hissori looked out the room's large window towards the mountains. He stayed silent.

* * *

**...Location unknown...**

Kita sighed and stared at the ground. She sat on an unseen chair that melted in with the darkness of the place she was in. She hunched over and put her elbows on her knees. After the living world had faded away, she had woken up here in this dark place. Kita glanced at her stomach. The wound was still there, though not bleeding anymore. Kita wondered briefly if she had become like those souls that only she could see. Was she destined to walk the earth as an empty soul like them? Kita's brow twitched. No, or else she wouldn't be here and still have her consciousness. But... what was going to happen then?

_Our first ancestor signed a contract with Shinigami, the Death God,_ echoed a voice in her mind. It was the story her father had told her many times, the story about her heritage. _Our bloodline's powers come from that contract. But with all contracts, in order to receive something, we must give up something. At the end of our lives, we will give up our right to be placed in either heaven or hell. We will become part of the Shinigami's army, and work for him in the afterlife, doing as he asks of us. _

"So... that is my fate..." whispered Kita, remembering the last part of the story.

"No, not yet, Mitsukai Kita," replied a hollow voice.

Kita looked up and her eyes widened; before her was a large figure hooded in a black cloak and wearing a white mask. In his hands he held a large scythe that looked as though it could cut through anything.

"Shinigami-sama!" exclaimed Kita, recognising the Death God himself. She trembled.

The figure nodded slightly. Behind him, claws clicked on the floor until they came to a stop. Nibi sat on its haunches, bowing its head down towards Shinigami. It glanced up at Kita.

"Shinigami-sama and I have been talking about your fate," it said.

Shinigami placed a skeletal-like hand on top of the Nekomata's head. "Yes, and I have decided it is not your time to serve me yet."

"You are of no use to my Master anyway, since your bloodline has not manifested itself," commented Nibi. It glanced up at its master.

"Now, now, she is a very valuable asset," replied the Death God, continuing to pat it, "even without her bloodline. Because she has you, and you have her."

The Nekomata gazed at its master with a look of confusion. "I do not understand, Master."

"You both have a symbiotic relationship, my pet. And to be truly strong, you must work together. For I fear there will come a time when you shall have to use that to your advantage," explained the Death God.

"Shinigami-sama..." Kita piped up. When he turned to her, Kita gulped. "Sorry, but... do you mean like those bandits that attacked me and my team?"

"Yes, and you have seen the consequences of that, have we not? That is why you will have to form a stronger bond than what you have presently."

Nibi's brow twitched. "Master..."

Shinigami's voice deepened. "Nibi, you were careless once in battle and you were imprisoned for it. I will not allow that to happen again. You must do this."

"What are you talking about?" asked Kita, starting to feel a sense of foreboding.

Shinigami turned to her. "Nibi has a different type of chakra to you; different from your human chakra. At the moment, your chakra does not mix properly because you are not the same species. To have both your chakra work together, you must be of the same species. You must give up your humanity."

Kita's head jerked back. Her eyes trembled. "You... you can't! What would my father think? What would the rest of village think! They're already mad enough at me as it is!"

"Silence!" commanded Shinigami in a voice that made Kita feel deathly cold and made the Nekomata flinch. "Would you rather be killed again because of your foolish concerns over what people would think?"

Kita fell silent. She was being foolish.

Nibi flicked its ears. "What, do you have something against cats?"

Kita shook her head. "No, I guess not... I have you to thank for protecting my friends after all, since I couldn't protect them myself."

"You do not have to worry as much as you think you do," Shinigami said. "It is only temporary until you learn your new chakra, then you will be able to use some of Nibi's powers to disguise yourself. So, Mitsukai Kita, are you ready?"

Bravely, Kita nodded.

"Very well, and just as Nibi is known as the Nekomata, from now on you will be known as the Nekomusume. Go forth into the living realm, until we meet again at the end."

* * *

**A/N: **Was I right? Huh, huh? Kita-kitty coming right up! 

**About the Nekomata/Bijuu in General:**

I know I told you some info about it in the first few chapters, but there were a few things I forgot to mention that I had found.

The Nekomata is not exactly the weakest of the bijuu, it is actually 6th, with its chakra/stamina rated at 8th and its overall strength rated at 4th. And if you are wondering, the strongest bijuu is the Kyuubi (though we all knew that, didn't we?), and the weakest is Ichibi (Shukaku). According to the legend of the bijuu, Nibi has fought and won against Kaku (Shichibi, seven tails) and Isonade (Sanbi, three tails). It also fought and lost against the Kyuubi. Nibi's symbolic element is Death, as it is Shinigami's pet.

The other seven bijuu are supposedly these creatures of legend:

Sanbi (Isonade)- A shark-like creature with three fins and tails and also a large horn on its head. It has a fish-servant called Samehada (sound familiar?) which allows Sanbi to have a larger capacity of chakra, five times more at least. UPDATE: It was proven that the Sanbi wasn't actually an Isonade after all...

Yonbi (Sokou)- A four-tailed rooster/snake creature, where the lower part is a snake. It is a master of poison and is able to control poisonous gasses and such.

Gobi (Houkou)- A five-tailed dog that is linked to all of the elements, with each tail representing an element. It is a master of illusion and once formed an alliance with the Nekomata in order to try and defeat the Kyuubi.

Rokubi (Raijuu)- A six-tailed weasel-creature that controls lightning. Its fur grows in an upward fashion and is golden yellow colour. Each of its tails is shaped like lightning bolts (Pikachu, anybody?).

Shichibi (Kaku)- A badger (not to be confused with Shukaku, which is a raccoon) with seven tails that uses clay to disguise itself as any kind of creature. It is the smallest of all the bijuu, but the most cunning.

Hachibi (Yamata no Orochi)- An eight-head, eight-tailed snake. Each of its tails represents a feature of the Demon World. It was originally one of the weakest until it absorbed a sword called the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, which then made it the second most powerful bijuu (Is anybody else reminded of a certain slimy, snake-freak?).

And finally, five of the nine bijuu are connected to an element of nature. These being:

Ichibi (Shukaku)- Wind and sand

Sanbi (Isonade)- Water

Rokubi (Raijuu)- Electricity

Shichibi (Kaku)- Earth

Kyuubi (Kyuubi no Youko)- Fire

I'm not sure if these are to be the creatures used, but it does seem likely.

**About the Names: **

**Nekomusume- **According to old legends, 'Nekomusume' is a cat-girl.

**Jutsu Used: **

Nope, none this chapter.

**:D Can't wait to see you next chapter!  
**


	9. Reincarnation

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Heh, well here is the conclusion to Kita's 'brush with death'. :3 Ah, and thanks to everyone who reviewed my other fic, 'Owner's Guide and Manual to UZUMAKI NARUTO'.

* * *

**_Chapter 9: Reincarnation_**

**The next day...**

Sora felt a tingling in the back of his neck as he and Yanagi were walking down a side street towards town. He stopped suddenly and looked up towards the mountains.

Yanagi ran into the back of him. "Ouch! Hey, why'd you stop like that?"

Sora glanced back at her, a slight frown spreading across his features. "I'm getting some real weird vibes... I think we better check it out."

"But, Sora!" started Yanagi.

"I know, it's only been a day," Sora butted in, "but, what if it didn't take as long as it thought it would to get Kita back? Come on, let's go."

"Does that include me?" asked a familiar voice behind them.

Shocked, Yanagi and Sora turned around to see their teacher.

"Rosuto-sensei!" exclaimed Yanagi. The jounin gave her a smile. Yanagi suddenly crossed her arms. "And how long have you been trailing us for now?"

Her teacher shrugged. "Since Hissori asked me to. Besides, she's my student too. I have as much a right to know as you do."

Sora was starting to look anxious.

"Anyway," said Rosuto, noticing Sora's look. His voice became serious. "Let's go."

"Yeah," Sora and Yanagi nodded, and took off in the lead.

* * *

Kita felt herself falling backwards through the darkness. The Nekomata leapt after her in pursuit. Before it reached her side, Kita thought she saw a glimmer of wicked delight in its eyes as glanced at her. Kita gulped. Had it been her imagination that she felt such evil radiating from that look? Kita didn't dare question it though.

The Nekomata glanced across at her saw she was staring. "What?" it asked, slightly annoyed.

"Oh, um, nothing!" replied Kita, a little too quickly. She needed a new subject, and fast. "So... what do you think about me... well, you know."

The cat sniffed. "Well, it does give me one less reason for wanting to kill you."

"Haha..." Kita retorted sarcastically. "If you wanted me dead, then you could have just left me back there."

"But where would the fun in that then?" The Nekomata smirked at her slowly.

Kita fell silent. There was that same feeling... That same look of viciousness... What was...?

Before Kita could think about it anymore, she was cut off by a bright light, flinging her back into the living world.

* * *

"So this is the place?" asked Rosuto, adjusting his headband-bandana over his brown hair. He looked up at the mountain with cool blue eyes, then down at the overgrown tumble of plants that hid the tunnel from view.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, and the vibes are getting even weirder now. But I dunno if we should go in or not."

Yanagi placed her hands on her hips. "Hey, we might as well. And we could always just sneak a peek from the tunnel. We don't even have to go out."

"That's a good idea, Yanagi," agreed Rosuto, pushing the bushes apart and heading in first.

"But what'll we do if the Nekomata is still there and then attacks us?" asked Sora.

"We'll just have to hope we can get away in time then," replied his teacher.

The trio slowly made their way through the tunnel, crawling over and between the boulders that were in the way. Many times Sora or Yanagi stubbed their toes.

"Ow!" said Sora, scratching himself on a piece of jagged rock. "I wish Kita was here, she can see in the dark really well."

Rosuto shook his head and sighed. "You guys have a lot to learn about being a ninja." He made no sound as he silently his way through the maze of rocks, though finding the whole thing to be a tight squeeze.

"How do you do that? We're getting stuck all over the place." Yanagi asked.

"Many years of practise, though I thought you guys would have learnt a bit about stealth in the academy." Even when he looked back, the jounin still was able to walk without making a sound.

Yanagi pouted. "Well, the whole academy thing was rather rushed. And I was more interested in training with my fans."

Rosuto looked back ahead and frowned. _I don't know what to think about this Age Limit anymore... When I was their age, I was still mucking around in the playground with my friends, not going out on missions where I could get killed. I'm not even sure if I should tell them about the upcoming Chuunin Exam. Even if they do complete all the missions necessary to enter, all those other entrants would be at least two or more years their senior._

"Chuunin Exam?" asked Sora suddenly. "What about a Chuunin Exam?"

Rosuto's eyes widened. _Damn it! I wasn't concentrating again! _He stopped and turned around at Sora, an angry glare in his eyes. "Why on earth were you looking into my thoughts?"

Sora shrugged. "Sometimes it happens without me knowing it... But what about a Chuunin Exam? What is it?"

"Yeah!" said Yanagi. "Is it something we can enter?"

"No, just be quiet. Now's not the time." Rosuto started off again. If he hadn't been so worried about how he would have looked, Rosuto would have been hitting his head against the rock walls now. _Damn it, damn it, damn it. How could I let my concentration down at a time like this! _

A light appeared at the end of the tunnel, interrupting all their thoughts.

"I can't feel the Nekomata's presence anymore," Sora whispered.

The three peeked out through the foliage guarding the tunnel opening. A kind of black cloud made of particles lifted up from the ground and drifted away.

Yanagi looked around. "The Nekomata was sitting there, right?"

"Yeah, but it's... huh?" Sora saw something lying on the ground. "What's that?"

Rosuto's brow twitched and he leapt out of the tunnel.

"Wait for us!" shouted Yanagi and Sora, tumbling out after him.

Rosuto waved a hand at them to be quiet as they came. They appeared at his side shortly and stared down at the creature on the ground. It was a cat, the size of a panther, with thick black fur and large silver-purple markings that ran all over its body. A Stone forehead protector was tied around its neck like a collar.

Yanagi bent down next to it and patted its fur. "Wow, it's so soft!"

"Hey, those markings are exactly the same colour as Kita's hair..." commented Sora, bending down to pat the unconscious feline as well.

Rosuto frowned. "That's because... it is Kita."

Yanagi and Sora both looked up at him with wide eyes.

"You're kidding, right?" asked Yanagi, taking her hand away from the creature's fur.

Rosuto bent down as well and looked the cat over. "It's her chakra alright, though it does feel a little different."

"She's waking up," said Sora, pointing to a twitching eyelid.

Slowly, the cat opened a misty purple eye and rolled over so she could sit up. She roughly rubbed her head with a paw. "Whoa, that sure was a rush... uh..." She looked up at the two genin and one jounin who were staring at her in a kind of shock. Kita gave them a sheepish look and her ears drooped. "Uh, hi guys... Nice to see you again..."

After a few minutes of silence Yanagi suddenly jumped onto Kita, pushing her over. "Ahh! It really is you!"

Kita gasped as the black haired girl squeezed her. "Yeah, it is! But Yanagi, you're choking me!"

Sora laughed and jumped on her as well. "I can't believe it; the Nekomata really did bring you back!"

Kita let them hug her for several minutes longer before they got off.

"Welcome back, Kita," Rosuto said as they got off.

"Rosuto-sensei!" Kita smiled as best a cat could. "Thanks..."

"So what happened, huh?" Yanagi asked. "What did you see, were there any scary ghosts? Did you see a bright light? Were there any angels?" Yanagi asked several more strange questions before Kita stopped her.

"Aren't you guys even interested about why I'm like this?" Kita tilted her head and twitched her tail.

"Oh, that too..." Yanagi finished.

"It obviously has something to do with the Nekomata," Sora commented.

"Kind of," explained Kita awkwardly. "But actually, Shinigami-sama thought he'd give me a 'helping paw', or so to speak."

"So even the God of Death is worried then..." murmured Rosuto.

Kita's ears lowered. "That's how it seemed when he spoke to me."

"Wow, you got to see _the _Shinigami?" exclaimed Yanagi, too excited to worry about the topic they had just been talking about. "What was he like?"

"Uh, scary," replied Kita briefly after a thought.

Sora tried to hide the troubled expression on his face. _Kita... _

"Maybe we should get going then," Rosuto said suddenly. He glanced at Kita's new form. "Are you okay to walk, Kita?"

Kita looked down at a paw and wiggled it. There was a mingled expression of amusement and sadness on her new face. "I know it's funny, but... somehow this feels right. So, yeah, I'll be okay, though I don't think I can run or anything. I'm feeling really sore."

Everyone stood up again and Kita rose to her paws. A strange look spread over her face as her stomach made a weird noise.

She made a gagging movement and hobbled around. "Gah, my stomach feels awful. That sandwich you made before mustn't like me at all."

"Uh, yeah... must have been off or something..." Yanagi gave an embarrassed-looking smile. She didn't dare tell Kita what the Nekomata had eaten...

* * *

"Run...! Run for your lives!" yelled a man, sprinting through the street. The villagers looked at him strangely. "It's the Nekomata! The Nekomata has returned!" The man ran off again down the street yelling.

Panic spread through the villagers. Where was it? They frantically scanned the mountains, then the sky, looking up in fear that they would set their eyes upon the beast. But there was no sign of the Nibi's gigantic form.

Someone gasped and the villagers looked down. Along the road came a group of ninja; one jounin and two genin. They were accompanied by a panther-sized feline with marks that resembled that of the Nekomata of legend. The villagers stared as the cat nervously eyed them all and stuck close to her companions.

"No way..." whispered someone. "That's the genin team the Mitsukai girl is in. And that cat... it looks just like her. I'd recognise those vicious eyes anywhere."

"You're right..." replied someone in an equally hushed tone. "And it has a forehead protector from our village too. It's gotta be her, the Nekomata child. The demon has done something to her."

The whispers spread down the street like wildfire. Speculations started to pop up, people wondering what had happened to her. Had Nibi changed the child so that it could attack the village more easily? Was it really the demon in disguise? What if she were to suddenly strike out against them? People moved back fearfully as Kita and her team passed them.

Rosuto looked down at Kita, who was becoming more and more edgy. All eyes were on her. "Don't worry about them at the moment. We're going to go to your place and call Tsuchikage-sama over to help us out."

Kita focussed her gaze straight ahead, trying to block out the whispers, but her new feline hearing wouldn't allow it. On the inside, Kita trembled. This wasn't going to be good.

* * *

Kita finally found relief when Rosuto shut the high gate that surrounded her home. She trotted over to her favourite chair under the sakura tree and laid down next to the tree and breathed a sigh. Yanagi and Sora joined and sat down on the bench.

Yanagi wiped her brow. "Man, that was so nerve-racking. I don't ever want to do that again."

Sora looked down at the ground. "I don't think that'll be the end of it, Yanagi-chan. And I don't think you have to worry as much as poor Kita."

Yanagi had started playing with Kita's ears, twitching them back and forth. Kita was too worried to care. Yanagi looked Kita, then at Sora. "Yeah, you're right. But hey, we'll always be there for you, won't we, Kitty?"

Kita smiled slightly, hardly caring about Yanagi's ever-annoying nickname for her. "Thanks guys."

"Kita, you're back," exclaimed a voice. Hissori ran out of the house, followed by Rosuto. Kita's father bent down to scoop his daughter up into a hug. "You're alright!" Tears leaked out of his eyes.

"I'm fine, Dad. You don't have to worry," Kita whispered. "I'm sorry I worried you before though."

Her father released the embrace and wiped the tears from his eyes. "As long as you're okay, everything's fine."

Rosuto patted Hissori on the shoulder. "I know this... will be difficult for you two to come to grips with, but I'm sure Tsuchikage-sama will sort everything out once he gets here."

"Do you want one of us to go to the Tsuchikage Tower?" asked Sora.

"No, I think Kita needs you guys at the moment for support, you too Hissori. And I have a faster way anyway," said Rosuto. "You kids might find this interesting. So pay attention, alright?"

Yanagi and Sora watched carefully. Kita glanced up at him, interested about the new technique.

Rosuto bit the end of his thumb, causing blood to dribble out onto his palm. Creating a few seals, he pressed his hand onto the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Writing spread out across the ground and a puff of smoke rose up around his hand.

A small brown rabbit hopped out of the smoke and stood up on his hind legs. "Usako-sama is here!" He yelled. The rabbit looked like a punk. He had multiple silver earrings pierced in his long brown ears and had a bright pink tuff of fur on top of his head.

"That's it?" asked Yanagi, pointing at him. "This cute little bunny rabbit?"

A fiery gleam of anger appeared in Usako's eyes. "Cute!" he shouted. "Cute? I'll kill you!"

In a flash, Usako was on top of Kita's head and trying to bite at Yanagi's finger. Yanagi gave a scream and fell backwards over the chair. Usako made a V victory sign with his ears, seeming very pleased with himself. Kita peered cross-eyed up at the rabbit summon and gave a cough. Usako looked down.

"Yikes!" he yelped and fled to hide behind Rosuto's leg. "Hey, Rosuto! What's that giant kitty doing here?"

Kita's brow twitched. "Don't call me a kitty! I'm... well, was a human!"

Usako's ears sprung up and he hid behind Rosuto's leg even more. "Well, just don't eat me then!"

"I won't," replied Kita, sniffing indignantly. There was a light twinkle of mischief in her eye. "Anyway, you're not my type."

"Not your type! What do you mean by that?" demanded Usako.

Kita closed her eyes and turned her head away. "You don't look very edible to me."

"Hey! I'm perfectly edible!" retorted Usako, putting his paws on his hips. He blinked as he realised what he had said. His look of realisation turned into a fiery death glare. "I'll kill you!" He shook a paw at Kita from behind Rosuto's leg.

Rosuto, Sora and Hissori all stifled a laugh.

"Usako," interrupted Rosuto, grabbing the rabbit's attention. The jounin took out a blank scroll and wrote a note on it. He handed it to the rabbit. "Take this note directly to Tsuchikage-sama and get him to come as fast as he can, alright?"

The rabbit accepted the scroll. He gave Rosuto a salute. "Yes, sir!" Suddenly, he was gone, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. He bounded over the fence and disappeared.

Yanagi, Sora and Kita all blinked.

"Wow, that's fast!" commented Sora.

"Usako's one of the fastest rabbits I know," commented Rosuto proudly.

"He's helped us out quite a few times with sending for reinforcements. Not many ninja can keep up with his speed." Hissori nodded. He looked down at Sora and Yanagi. "When the Tsuchikage gets here, you guys stay out here. We'll need to have a private talk with Kita. If you want, you can go into town and get us some dinner." Hissori dug around in his pocket and produced a small wad of notes and gave them to Sora.

"And remember, no fish," muttered Kita.

Sora and Yanagi grinned, happy to see Kita was feeling better.

* * *

**A/N: **Seems as though Kita's able to make a couple jokes about her situation now, though she is still a bit anxious. Wonder what the future will hold? ;D 

**About the Names: **

**Usako- **'Usa', nickname for rabbit. I can't exactly remember what 'ko' means, though I think it means small... But it's a cute name all together though. ... or not cute; Death by small bunnies can be extremely embarrassing.

**Jutsu Used: **

**Kuchiyose no justu **_(Summoning no justu)_(Ninjutsu) (Summoning) (C rank) (Number of hand seals depends) According to the official jutsu list: This Jutsu, using a contract, Seal, and the user's blood, binds an animal to the user. The type of animal is determined by the contract and Seal performed. The blood is used as a signature to make the contract, which can be written on a scroll or tattoo, valid. Once bound, the animal can be summoned to perform a task or help the user in battle. Other types of Summoning Techniques can summon powerful objects, such as weapons or puppets.

Rosuto gained his contract with the Usagi clan when he was 15 after he found an injured rabbit which happened to be a part of that clan. He took care of it and in return was offered the contract. Usako is the one of the sons of that very rabbit. The rabbit clan is mostly not used for fighting, since their clan focuses more on speed so they may be used to deliver messages between shinobi. However, there are a few exceptions within the clan. Usaontai, the head rabbit is an excellent fighter and is as big as most other boss animals. The Usagi clan specialises in ground and some wind ninjutsu, excellent for someone like Rosuto who also specialises in such things.

**Oh, and if you haven't already read my newest fic, go ahead and read it! I hope you get a couple laughs from it!  
**


	10. A Visitation of the Mind

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **I finally put a jutsu in for you all, and a little bit of romance ;D I can't help it. I'm a softie.

* * *

**_Chapter 10: A Visitation of the Mind_**

Sora closed the front gate behind him and Yanagi. The Tsuchikage had turned up alright, but not only that, the entire council had as well. They were all currently squashed into the front room of the Mitsukai house. Many of them had grim faces, and Sora was sure that wasn't from being crammed in the room.

He heard a gentle sigh beside him. He glanced across to Yanagi. Her black, silky hair reflected the warm colours of a sun that was on the verge of crossing over to the other ends of the Earth. In the sunlight, Yanagi's eyes sparkled worriedly. Sora gently placed his hand into Yanagi's own slender hand. Unconsciously, the girl squeezed his hand.

"You okay...?" asked Sora in a concerned tone.

The girl looked back at him. Sora's dark orange eyes were full of care. She put on a brave smile that faltered. "I'm worried about Kita."

"How so?" questioned Sora, although he knew he had the same thoughts as her. He didn't need his psychic powers to know that

Yanagi's hand trembled in Sora's. She still hadn't noticed his grasp. "You saw the looks everyone gave her, Sora. If we didn't know her the way we do, we would probably have been giving her the same looks as well. It's hard to believe... that these people were once her friends. It's all that stupid cat's fault! When it showed up, everyone turned on her! And what's worse is; I used to be one of those people! I thought she was a monster, a traitor! I was her best friend too! And now..." Tears trickled down the black-haired girl's flushed cheeks.

"And now... that Kita's had her life turned upside-down even more, these people will only treat her worse," Sora finished for her, reading the raging thoughts in the girl's mind that refused to come out in her tearful state.

Yanagi nodded. Her thoughts were out, but her tears were not stopping. She felt warmth suddenly surround her as Sora pulled her into an embrace. He let her dry her tears against his jacket, then gently released her.

"Kita's been really strong through all this, but only because we've been there to support her. Even if the villagers sink to new lows, we gotta be there for her, and show her we're not like the others and that we care about her. That's she's one of our precious people. No matter what, we gotta be there for her..." Sora smiled. _Just like how I'll always be there for you Yanagi-chan..._

Yanagi nodded again, her tears almost gone. A smile returned to her lips. "You're right, thank you... Sora."

Sora grinned then ran ahead. He turned around briefly and waved wildly. "Come on then! We gotta get lots of fish for dinner!"

"But Kita hates fish!" yelled Yanagi, chasing after him.

"Exactly!" laughed the blue-haired boy.

Yanagi laughed as well. Suddenly, she noticed her hand was hot for some reason... Her heart gave a large thump as she realised Sora had been holding her hand that entire time.

_You idiot Sora... you're just too nice sometimes, s_he thought and sighed. _But my heart will always belong to Tansei-kun... I hope... _

"Yanagiiii-chaaaan!" yelled Sora in the distance. "Come on!"

"Wait for me!" Yanagi waved and gave pursuit.

* * *

"I can't believe they ran out of bags!" Sora moaned, balancing a large stack of plastic containers in his arms.

"I'll get the gate then." said Yanagi, going to open the latch. The door swung open before she touched it and a swarm of councillors barraged past her and towards Sora.

"Ack!" yelped Sora, being pushed over by the stampede and sending the plastic containers flying. The lids flew off and a whole variety of different foods fell down towards Sora. Sora saw it and covered his eyes.

"Sora! The food... ah!" Yanagi watched in amazement as a blur of something leapt through the air and swept up all the falling food.

Ishi Benkeino, the Tsuchikage of the Stone, landed on the ground, all of the containers in his large hands. Sora opened his eyes and blinked. Not a single grain of rice had even touched him or fallen on the ground.

Yanagi ran over and bowed to the Yondaime Tsuchikage. "Thank you so much, Tsuchikage-sama! You saved our food!"

"That was awesome!" Sora grinned and stood up, bowing to him then brushing the dust off of his pants.

The man laughed heartily, his white robe billowing in the slight breeze. "You kids got to eat, so it's wrong to waste even a single grain of rice for those who will one day be taking over my job. And I doubt Hissori would have liked it if you had wasted his hard-earned money anyway." His laughter stopped and he grew serious. "You better go in and talk to Kita, you'll be happy to know that she's still a member of the team and she'll be treated like any other Stone shinobi."

"Ah, Tsuchikage-sama... I don't want to be rude, but..." Yanagi gulped. "How can we make people treat her like she's one of us? Wouldn't it be impossible to change what people think?"

"Unfortunately," replied the man, bending down to her's and Sora's heights. "There is no real way to change how someone thinks unless you show them that they are wrong. If Kita continues to be a ninja and helps the community... then you never know, but yes, you are right Yanagi. And it'll take a lot of work to change that. But you guys are smart and young. You can do it." He took Sora's and Yanagi's hands and held them up. "See these hands? With these, you can do anything. So keep working hard towards the future."

He stood up, ruffled their hair, then left.

Sora picked up the containers from the ground. "Let's go see Kita then."

"Right," nodded Yanagi.

* * *

Kita stared up at the bare skeletal arms of the sakura tree. Tiny buds were beginning to sprout on them. Spring was coming soon, but sooner than that was the night. The sun that shone today was nothing but a tiny lining of gold on the horizon. The new night air blew up a breeze and swirled around Kita's form, making her fur wave gently.

"Aren't you cold?" asked Sora as he and Yanagi approached.

Kita jumped a little, she had been too deep in thought to notice them. She smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Well I'm not!" complained Yanagi, rubbing her bare arms. "Let's get inside and eat."

"What did you get?" asked Kita, getting to her feet. She sighed as she smelt what was in the containers. "Fish... You guys are so cruel to me..."

* * *

Kita stumbled out of the house early the next morning into the front yard. It was still early; the sky was a sullen morning grey, tinged with red on the horizon. Kita sniffed the air; there would be rain later today. There was no time to watch the sunset though. Kita laid down and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, the scene had changed. She was in a lush green field full of light purple flowers. However, the flowers had no scent, and Kita could neither feel the wind on her face nor the grass beneath her feet. It was only aesthetic, an illusion portraying the inner workings of her mind. Kita stood up on two feet. In the recesses of her mind she was a human.

She started to walk through the field. As she walked, she noticed changes. Dark black vines with sharp thorns snaked through the field, invading the beauty of the landscape. Each vine represented a piece of her personality that had been given to her by the Nekomata. She came to a stop in front of a small birdbath where a vine clung around it. She peered into the bowl at the top; there was blood in it. Every now and then, a bubble would rise to the surface, disrupting the blood and making it splash out of the bowl onto the vine that surrounded it. The vine seemed to grow larger every time it was splashed. Kita decided to walk on.

The grass beneath her became brown and lifeless as she continued. Soon it was completely dead and gone, leaving the earth bare and cracked. The flowers became twisted and black, much more murderous looking than before.

"Come to visit me at last, Nekomusume?"

Kita looked up into the face of the Nekomata. She nodded and looked down at its feet, which were heavily shackled to the ground, except for one which looked as though it had never been put on; probably as a result of the flawed sealing.

"I wanted to ask a question," Kita started. She looked up into Nibi's golden eyes. "These eyes of mine, they're different than what I remember."

"So you noticed that you no longer see the souls of the lost, nyan?" Nibi blinked lazily. "It is because I have allowed you to be able to turn the ability on and off, just as I am able to. But don't think that you can be happy thinking that you will never have to use it; because it is this ability that will allow you to become truly strong, so you will one day need to activate it. You understand, nyan?"

Kita nodded. "I suppose so..."

"But, for the moment, I would suggest you start re-learning how to use your new chakra. Don't come whining to me when you don't get it the first time however. Now go." The Nekomata waved a paw.

Kita nodded again and vanished. After she left, the Nekomata purred contently.

* * *

"Morning, Kitty!" cooed a voice in Kita's face.

Kita opened her eyes and blinked. Sora's grinning mouth was right before her eyes. Kita used a paw to push him away and got up. "Sora," she yawned, still dazed from her little 'walk'. "What are you doing here? And stop calling me that... it's irritating enough coming from Yanagi..." She glanced at the horizon; the sun was only just now peaking out.

Sora rubbed his chest from where Kita pushed him. "I slept over last night, but you were already asleep so I didn't tell you." He pointed over to the front room where a mattress had been set up. "Your dad said it was okay."

Kita looked Sora over. Her eyes came to rest on some bandages on his hand. A little blood had soaked through; forming what seemed to be the shape of a bite mark. "How'd you get that Sora?"

The blue haired boy hid his hand from view and scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, it's nothing, just one of my mum's random genjutsu attacks again... don't worry, I'm fine!" He smiled, though Kita knew it was fake.

She sighed, but decided to let it rest. _Though, _she thought, _why did Sora stay over at our place then...?_ She felt worried about her team mate and his relationship with his mother. _Poor Sora, all he wants to do is be friends with everyone, but because of wanting to be friends with me as well, his mother is horrible to him._

Sora subconsciously rubbed the injury on his arm and took a quick glance at his feline friend. Even without mind-reading, he was sure she was slowly working out what had happened last night after he'd gone home...

* * *

**Last night, at the Kigaino home...**

"Hey, I'm home!" yelled Sora, flinging the door open and jumping in.

_Be quiet, Sora!_ whispered a voice in his head. Sora looked up to the top of the stairs and saw his older sister there. She had a worried expression on her face.

"What's wrong, nee-chan?" Sora whispered back to her, unable to communicate telepathically yet.

_You shouldn't have come home tonight,_ she said.

"Huh? Why not?" asked Sora out loud, forgetting to whisper.

**_Sora!_** screeched a voice, both physically and mentally. The psychic voice was worse though, like nails on a blackboard.

Sora cringed and held his head. His sister fled from the stairs to her room.

His mother appeared... fresh from the kitchen and with a meat cleaver in her hand. "The next door neighbours have been talking about it all day! In fact, the whole town has been talking about it all day! They say the demon cat has possessed that wretched Mitsukai girl's body and is going to attack us at any minute! And they say that the Tsuchikage is allowing her to stay as a genin!"

"Wha? No!" replied Sora. He tried to stay brave in the face of his personal demon. "Kita's still herself, she's... just been turned into a cat, that's all. But it's still her on the inside."

"The inside? I don't care about that!" his mother screamed at him. "A cat? Can't you see how close that is to actually being the demon cat itself! The neighbours say she's as big as a mountain lion! She could take you out with one swipe of those disgusting claws of hers! I bet she's just as vicious as one too! A vicious, bloodthirsty animal!"

"Kita's not an animal!" retorted Sora. "She's my best friend; she saved mine and Yanagi's lives once!"

For a second, Sora's mother seemed dumbfounded by his comeback. She regained her senses as she thought about what he had said. "Tell me what happened," she ordered. "What do you mean by 'saved mine and Yanagi's lives once'?"

Sora opened his mouth, then stopped. He couldn't tell her about what happened. If she knew about the Nekomata showing itself...

After a minute's silence, Sora's mother slammed the meat cleaver into the wall, then stormed towards Sora. "I want to know what happened Sora!"

"I can't..." replied Sora, determined to stay quiet.

His mother's face twitched in rage. She had had enough. She performed a set of hand seals.

Sora's eyes widened. "Mum, what are you doing? You can't use that on me!"

"I have no choice if you won't tell me!" she yelled, finishing the seals. "_Omoi kouhyou no jutsu_!"

Sora felt like his head was cracking in half. He tried to stop his mother's mind from entering, but it was too late. Sora fell to the ground and felt his eyes become blurry as he started to relive the day Kita had saved them.

"_Kita!" yelled Sora. _

_Yanagi opened her eyes and stared up in disbelief. "Kita...?"_

Sora couldn't shut his eyes and look away, he was forced to see the sight again, that of Kita skewered on a sword with her life's blood running out of her... Her breath coming slower and slower... Her tears as she apologised... and finally her body slumping over in death.

"_Kita!" _

_Hasaki shrugged and smiled. "That's the end of your friend Kita. I suppose I'd better dispose of the body for you. A funeral is in order- nothing fancy though." Hasaki swung his sword away. _

"I won't let you see this!" Sora yelled. He could feel her presence, watching every detail. It was like a sick nightmare; seeing all this again. Everything was so real, just like that day. Even the smell of Kita's blood was there.

Sora tried to use his own psychic powers to break the jutsu off. But to no avail- his own psychic powers were no match for his mother's.

Kita started to breathe again. It was coming...

"No!" shouted Sora. Pain shot through his hand and up his arm.

The memory abruptly blurred and faded away. Sora's mother was shut off from it. Before she left, he could feel her boiling anger.

Sora opened his eyes, still groggy from the jutsu. He moved his hand and felt it burn with pain beside his face. He had bitten his hand so hard it had broken the skin. Blood oozed out onto the floor. He heard his mother come out of the jutsu as well. His eyes widened and he leapt to his feet, ignoring the pain in his hand.

"I'll be back later, bye!" Without giving a look back, he ran out the door and sprinted up the street.

_I'll try and calm her down for you, bro,_ whispered his sister's kind voice as he left.

Ten minutes later, a tired and bleeding Sora arrived back at the Mitsukai house. Hissori nodded when he explained to him and let him inside.

* * *

"Would you like some breakfast?" asked Kita.

Sora snapped out of his reminiscing and looked at his friend-turned-cat. He put on a smile for her, glad to see that she was there and alive again. The image of her death flashed before his eyes. He shook his head clear of it. "Yeah, that'd be nice," he replied at last, following her back into the house.

* * *

**A/N: **Sora's mother... is scary... 

**About the Names: **

No new names today

**Jutsu Used: **

**Omoi kouhyou no jutsu**_ (Mind Review no justu)_(Special bloodline ability) (6 hand seals) A Kigaino bloodline ability that allows the user to read the opponents mind through past events.

This jutsu is actually quite dangerous to use. It can cause severe mental strain on the subject if the user does not know what they are searching for, as then the user will have to sift through memories, pulling them all out and putting them back at a rapid pace. In some cases where this has happened, the subject can go mad. The ability is often used to get information from prisoners however.

**Till next time! -hugs-**


	11. Shaken

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Hey guys! Wow, quite a response since the last chapter! Thankies so much for encouraging me to keep writing! It's been real fun, and also, I love replying to your comments! Remember, if you got any questions, ask away!

* * *

**_Chapter 11: Shaken_**

"Six o'clock..." Kita mumbled under her breath as she glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Hey Kita, let's go see Yanagi!" Sora suggested, returning from cleaning up breakfast (which had happened to be last night's leftovers, much to Kita's disappointment after she realised cooking was impossible when you didn't have opposable thumbs).

"But..." she protested, then stopped. Sora had his mischievous grin on. She sighed; when he had that face on, it was generally best to let him get it out of his system before even more mischief ensued. "Alright," nodded Kita weakly. "She'd still be asleep though, you know?"

"But that's the whole point!" Sora's grin widened.

* * *

Kita and Sora snuck silently onto the roof ledge in front of their team mate's room, which was on the second story. Yanagi's family owned a successful bookshop that was the bottom story of their house. The two genin peeked through the window, expecting to see her asleep. She was not. Yanagi sat on her bed dressed in a set of hot pink silk pyjamas with gold stars on them. A scroll was set up on her bed before her. The girl studied the scroll determinedly and furiously practised hand seals as she read. She didn't notice her two visitors.

Sora smirked playfully and popped up. "Good morning, my sweet Yanagi-hime!"

Yanagi's eyes slowly moved away from the scroll to him. She paused for a second before she gave a muffled scream. She threw a pillow at him, which bounced harmlessly off of the window.

Sora laughed.

The black-haired girl narrowed her eyes at him and packed up the scroll. She stomped over to the window, slid it open and bopped Sora over the head. She noticed Kita hiding beside him.

"Idiots! Both of you," she hissed venomously. "What are you doing here? Especially you, Kita! My parents would have a fit if they saw you. It barely took all I had just to convince them to let me stay as a genin."

Kita's feline ears drooped. "But... it was Sora's idea..."

Yanagi gave Sora a death-glare.

Sora scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, oh... So, what were you doing Yanagi-chan?" he asked, hoping to change the subject.

Yanagi's glare softened. "I was studying ninjutsu scrolls."

"Why?" questioned Kita, eager for the change as well.

Their questions worked. Yanagi flipped back some of her silky black hair, a sign she was either going to gloat and/or complain. "Well, unlike you two, who have ninja parents, I'm forced to teach myself. And at the moment, I'm studying earth ninjutsu. Because, if I'm to be the Tsuchikage, then I'll need to know every earth jutsu there is."

Kita jumped up and put her front paws on the window sill. "I would have thought you'd have just focussed on wind jutsu because of your fans."

Yanagi sniffed. "Well, I will look at that but-"

"A weapon doesn't make the ninja," Sora finished for her, grinning.

He received another bop over the head. The blue-haired boy pouted.

"Yeah, that." Yanagi frowned. "I'm going to try and study everything I can really, though I don't think I'll look at much genjutsu... I'll leave that to you, Sora."

Sora's grin returned. "Yeah, I'll protect you from any genjutsu attacks, Yanagi-chan!"

"And you can protect me from any rabid mice or kamikaze birds, Kitty." Yanagi joked at her feline team mate.

It was Kita's turn to give a death-glare. "Ha ha..."

"Those kamikaze birds can be a real pain," commented a voice.

All three heads turned to see Rosuto squatting right beside them. He gave a friendly wave, then looked into Yanagi's room. "You sure don't keep a clean room, Yanagi. I expected better from you." He stared at Yanagi in her pyjamas for a second and raised an eyebrow.

"Pervert!" Yanagi screamed and threw the pillow again, though without aiming properly. Without the window there, this time it hit its mark- Sora's face.

"Yanaaaagiii-chaaaan!" Sora fake-cried as the pillow slipped off of his face.

Rosuto glanced at Sora and laughed. Suddenly his laughs cut off. "Hide," he said simply. He disappeared in a cloud of dust.

Kita's ears twitched. She quickly grabbed Sora's jacket in her mouth and threw him up onto the second story's roof where she leapt up after him. The door to Yanagi's room flew open.

"Yanagi! Are you okay?" asked a frantic voice, her mother's.

"We thought we heard yelling!" said another voice, her father's.

"Uh... uh... there was this bird that flew at the window and I got startled!" Yanagi tried to explain. She waved her hands frantically. "But, it's okay now! You get back to bed."

"Are you sure?" asked Yanagi's mother (a beautiful woman with silk black hair and creamy porcelain skin. She was a well known celebrity around Iwagakure many years ago for winning the 'Miss Earth Country' Pageant. When Yanagi had been born, she and Yanagi's father had expected her to follow in her mother's footsteps... unfortunately not, but they did respect that their daughter wanted to take a different path).

"I'm sure, now go!" Yanagi squashed her parents out of the doorway. She sighed in relief.

Rosuto, Sora and Kita all appeared again at the window.

"Sorry about that..." Rosuto apologised. He went into his serious mode. "Okay guys. I know it's been a while, but we've got our first mission ready. I'll meet you in an hour at..." He took a glance at a piece of paper. "4 Pebble Lane. It belongs to a nice old lady named Akujo-san. Alright, see you in half an hour." He disappeared again.

Yanagi's jaw dropped. "Half an hour!" she screeched. "I'll never get my hair done in time! No!"

"Yanagi? Are you okay up there?" yelled Yanagi's mother. Yanagi gave an 'erk' of surprise as she ran to keep the door closed.

Kita and Sora ran from the scene.

* * *

**Later...**

Yanagi sprinted at top speed towards 4 Pebble Lane, her hair-ties in one hand, her other hand fixing her hair back. She gripped her Stone hitae-ate in her mouth. After a few complicated minutes, she finally managed to get her hair back and tie her forehead protector over the top of her hair-ties. She slowed to a halt as she approached the rest of her, standing in front of a well-to-do townhouse with a neat cottage garden out the front. Yanagi panted for breath, and then went in with the others up to the front door.

"Got here right on seven exactly," remarked Kita, a smile on her face. Finally, a mission that had absolutely no chance of going wrong! Kita promised herself she would complete it.

Sora saw a flash of movement inside the house beside the window curtains. He frowned slightly; something about this place was bothering him. The vibes coming from inside worried him.

Rosuto knocked on the front door. After the first knock, it opened. A tall old woman with thin lips, overly-neat hair, and a no-nonsense maroon dress stood in the doorway, her lips pursed tightly.

"Yes?"

"Ah, good morning, Akujo-san. Team Omega reporting for our mission." Rosuto bowed; the others followed suit.

The elderly woman scowled at them, though it was mostly directed at Kita, as the others noticed. After a few seconds of the expression, she nodded curtly and moved aside to let them inside. As Kita went to enter lastly, she moved back to block her. "I don't let animals in the house." She shut the door in Kita's face.

Kita stumbled back as the door narrowly missed her nose. She blinked. What just hap...? She'd been shut out! Kita's ears flicked back. There was an argument going on inside, fuelled by Yanagi. She could hear her team mate's muffled protests through the door. Rosuto said something, and Yanagi's voice ended. Akujo said something before the door opened again and Kita's team filed out. Sora looked cranky; Yanagi was fuming.

Akujo handed Rosuto a shopping list and some money, then looked down her nose at Kita. "I'll tell you what I told them: if you so much as put one of your dirty whiskers on my shopping, then I'll make sure nobody ever hires you again! The Tsuchikage was a fool for being weak enough to let you become a ninja in the first place."

The door slammed shut again. Kita felt absolutely dejected.

Yanagi stormed down to the street. "'Nice old lady'? 'Nice old lady'?" She turned and made a rude gesture at the house.

Sora put a hand on Kita's head. "Don't worry, she's just an old witch, that's all. I'm sure nobody else is like that."

Secretly, Rosuto gave them a worried look, knowing, just like Sora, that his words were a false hope.

* * *

Kita was the first one to notice the growing silence as she and her team entered the market square and headed towards the produce section. In hushed tones, people started to point and whisper to one another. Kita had no doubt that if Rosuto and her team mates hadn't been there, they would have done more than just stare and whisper to each other.

"You can always back out of this mission if you want to," Rosuto whispered to her.

Kita shook her head. "No, I'm going to see this through, even if I can't be a big help because of that old witch."

"That's the spirit!" Yanagi grinned, patting her on the head. "Don't let them get to you."

Though she tried to ignore the stares, they slowly got to her. Kita's ears drooped and her tail started to drag through the dust. Rosuto divided the shopping list into three parts; fruit for Yanagi, vegetables for Sora, and plant seedlings for him and Kita. Yanagi and Sora rushed off to get the items on their list. Kita tagged behind Rosuto towards a small nursery.

Rosuto looked down the list. "Okay, Ankujo-san wants some lavender, foxglove, and violet seedlings." He read the note further and scratched the back of his head. "And she wants good healthy ones... Maybe I should have given this to Yanagi instead; she'd probably know her plants better than me."

"Don't worry, I can help." Kita smiled, temporarily forgetting about the continued stares she was getting. "Mia-sensei taught us about plants in the academy."

"Alright then," nodded Rosuto. "I know what lavender and violets look like, but I must admit I'm not that good at remembering what foxglove is."

Kita padded over to a tall plant with soft-looking flowers sprouting up its length. "This is it, but it's an adult one. The seedlings are behind it."

Rosuto picked up a couple that looked well-off and put them in one of the cardboard boxes provided. Kita lead him around to the lavender and violet plants. She breathed in their scents, feeling calmer from then for a second. Rosuto picked up the box and took it over to the owner.

"I hope you're keeping an eye on her," commented the owner to Rosuto, giving Kita a quick glance as he added up the total.

"She's very responsible, much more than some other people," Rosuto said back calmly, paying the owner and taking the box back. He walked over to Kita and the two of them headed back to the centre where they were soon joined by Sora and Yanagi.

"I knew she was a witch, she likes broccoli!" Sora distastefully looked at the vegetables he carried.

"Yeah, she bought a bunch of apples! I bet she's going to poison them!" agreed Yanagi.

"Alright you two, that's enough," Rosuto warned. "You're not supposed to make fun of the person who's helping pay our wages. Let's just get back, and then we can have a training session. We haven't had one in a while."

The four of them started back. Without anything to take her mind off of it, Kita slowly became more depressed as people glared at her. She couldn't wait to get back and then go train with the others.

Rosuto knocked on a familiar door when they reached Akujo's house again. The door opened and Akujo took the packages in herself. She came back to the door.

"I'm not paying you for this," she said, shoving the box of seedling back at Rosuto. "They absolutely reek of cat. I told you not to let her touch anything!"

"Ma'am, but she-" Rosuto fumbled with the box and tried to talk back to her.

"Even if she didn't touch them, they still smell of cat, and I'm not having them in this house!" Akujo retorted. "And since you disobeyed my instructions, I refuse to pay!" She glared furiously at Kita, pointing at her with a long finger. "You're a disgrace to this village, even if you are one of the Mitsukai clan! Your family must be turning in their graves! Never in all my life have I ever seen something so deserving of going to Hell! I'm just glad your teacher is here to protect me from you in case you turn feral. But from now on, I'm not leaving the house without a knife. I'm sure everyone else is doing the same!"

That was it. Kita snapped; the weight of the morning made her finally cave in. She turned and ran, ran as fast as she can. She ignored the yells of her team mates to come back and just kept running.

She would have cried; but cats don't cry tears.

* * *

_Almost home... Almost home..._ Kita looked up at the street name before putting her head back down. 

"Ah! Watch out!" cried a voice.

Kita looked up, too late. She barrelled head first into a girl carrying a basket of flowers. Kita skidded across the ground on her back. The girl's basket went flying into the air as she was knocked down.

After regaining her senses, Kita shook her head and drowsily got to her feet.

"Kita?" asked the voice that had yelled before; it belonged to the girl she had knocked down.

Kita looked the girl on the ground up and down. She had long, dark green hair tied in braids and deep brown eyes. She wore a white t-shirt with a forest green wrap-around top and had a pair of three-quarter camouflage pants on with light brown boots. "Hana?" Though she had grown, Kita recognised the Tsuchikage's daughter.

"You remember!" Hana smiled serenely. "I knew it must be you! I heard all the townsfolk talking about you, and... uh..." Her face went red with embarrassment and she turned her gaze to the ground.

"It's okay..." sighed Kita. "I think everybody in the village knows about it now. But, aren't you... angry at me or anything?" Kita glanced away from her old friend.

"Oh, no! No, I'm not!" Hana replied quickly, turning her gaze back. Her face was flushed. "I'm really happy to see you! I really missed you a lot!"

"You are?" asked Kita, surprised.

"Of course! Dad always speaks so nicely of you, so I know you're still okay. I've been hearing what the other villagers have been saying. It's really not fair. I can't believe what they say, not after knowing you for all that time!"

Kita smiled, a warm feeling filling her heart.

Hana smiled again, a touch of sadness in her eyes. "I'm really glad they let you become a ninja. You must be really special."

It was then Kita noticed Hana lacked a Stone headband. "Didn't you...?"

Hana shook her head slowly. "I... I wasn't strong enough to pass... I failed everything. I don't like fighting, I'd rather help people than hurt them. I'm not special enough."

Kita's eyes widened. "But, in classes, you... Your dad was teaching you stuff before we even went to the academy! How could you not be special enough? You're the Tsuchikage's daughter!"

The green-haired girl turned away. "That's what they all said..." she whispered. She started to pick up the scattered flowers on the ground.

Kita frowned. There was something not right here. "Hana, something happened that made you lose confidence in yourself, didn't it? Whenever you were with me and Yanagi, you always did things perfectly, but whenever something upset you, you'd falter, but still... there's no way you could have failed everything unless something happened!"

"Kita, please... drop it?" Hana pleaded, dropping the flowers in her hand. Though she couldn't see it, Kita knew she was crying.

"But... I want to know..." replied Kita angrily. "What makes me anymore special than you? Why'd you fail while I passed? That's what's not fair. Screw what happened to me, what happened to you is even worse! And I want to know! Did someone say something to you before the exam!"

"No, shut up!" Hana yelled, turning back on Kita. She gasped at her outburst and covered her mouth for a moment. Tears trickled down her cheeks. "I mean, I'm sorry, I... I just can't, okay?" She stood up, then fell back down.

"Are you okay?" asked Kita, leaping over to her side.

Hana held her ankle. "I think I twisted it when we collided."

"I'll take you to the hospital. Can you stand up and put your hand on my back? I'll support you."

Hana nodded timidly and let Kita help her up.

"Hana..?" Kita asked quietly, getting the girl's attention. "I'm sorry, but you're still a friend to me... and uh, I'm sorry. Something upset me before, and I was still angry from it when we were talking."

"It's okay..." Hana replied. Her brown eyes trembled. In her mind, she could still hear those words: _'If you even dare trying to pass that exam, I'll kill you. I'm not going to let you surpass me, even if you are the Tsuchikage's daughter. So when the exam comes, fail it. Or else...'

* * *

_

**A/N: **I feel sorry for Hana-chan! She's such a sweetie, but she can become so nervous that it's a bad thing. But don't worry, I'm sure Hana will find her calling ;D I've already written the next chapter, so expect it soon. Just gotta go over it for spelling and grammar and that. But it's gonna be a good one, I promise. You might learn a little about what's going to happen in later chapters, so keep an eye out.

**About the Names: **

**Akujo**- In Japanese it means 'Wicked or ugly woman' Appropriate?

**Jutsu Used: **

None, sorry!

**See ya next time!  
**


	12. No Place to Go

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Another chapter from yours truly :D I've been writing like mad for the past week (I've been super bored since I've moved).

* * *

**_Chapter 12: No Place to Go_**

"Kita-chan... didn't you say you weren't going to let me see you for at least a week? It's only been two days!"

"I'm sorry Bara-san, but it's not me you need to look after, it's Hana. She's hurt her ankle."

The matron sighed motherly, taking in Kita's new appearance. She gave another sigh and moved on to Hana, who was leaning on Kita's back. "Let me take a look at you, dear." She eased Hana's foot out of her boot and examined it. "Come in the room and I'll fix it up."

"Thank you, Bara-san." Hana tried to bow.

"Forget the mannerisms, let's just get that ankle looked at," Bara replied, helping her to hobble into the room and sitting her on a chair in her office. She tenderly touched Hana's ankle to test the damage. It was only slightly swollen. "It's not too bad, so maybe I can use some medical jutsu on it."

Kita blinked. "You can use medical jutsu? I didn't know that!"

Bara motioned for her to calm down. "Around a half of the medical staff here know it, not counting the medic-nins themselves. The third Tsuchikage started a program before he died, Kami-sama bless his soul, that all medical staff be tested for the capacity to learn it. I can heal, but only small things like this. It's a real shame that there aren't more medic-nins outside the hospital to go out into the field. They're all so busy just helping inside the hospital, which leaves them with little time or opportunity to join up with a team."

Hana listened to her closely as the nurse placed a hand over her ankle and the green light of healing chakra appeared. "How do ninja become medic-nin in the first place, Bara-san?" she asked curiously.

"Well, they're not always ninja to begin out with, but they receive training as they go. It's essential for a medic-nin to learn other jutsu now. Another post-effect from the war with Konoha is that many medic-nin were killed on the field. Horrible thing that is, where the enemy attacks someone just trying to help. But it's because we didn't concentrate hard enough on teaching medic-nin on how to defend themselves properly in the first place. We were foolish, running into war like that." She took her hand away. "All done," she announced, checking the ankle again. "I did pretty well, I think. Try walking Hana-chan."

Hana stood up right away and walked around the room. "It doesn't hurt anymore, that's amazing!"

Nurse Bara nodded. "It would be handy just to have someone like me on the field. There are so many small injuries that end up endangering a ninja on the field. I've been around long enough to see it happen. It's too bad I never became a medic-nin, I would have gone rather well I think."

Hana bowed again. "Thank you, Bara-san! And thank you for telling me about medic-nin, I didn't know they could be so helpful."

"That's okay; it's nice to see someone who's taken an interest. Well, it's almost time for my lunch break. So I will see you later." She waved and took off to the cafeteria.

Hana smiled at Kita. "I better go too. It was nice seeing you again Kita!" She bowed and ran off.

Kita gave her a curious look in return, although Hana didn't see it. _I wonder... _she thought suspiciously.

* * *

Rosuto held a rather annoyed expression on his face as a certain black-haired genin hopped in circles around him.

"Rosuto-sensei! What'll we do about that awful old witch not paying us? And what about how she treated Kita? Can we get the ANBU to assassinate her? That'd teach her!" Yanagi grinned at the thought of the old hag being 'accidentally' pushed off a cliff somewhere.

The jounin sighed and started to answer her. "Akujo-san says our service was dissatisfactory, we can't argue back if she says she has grounds to refuse paying. There's nothing we can do about someone insulting someone, even if it _is_ Kita we're talking about. And, as much as I know you'd like it Yanagi, no. We can't sic the ANBU onto her."

Yanagi gave a huff of disappointment and pouted, crossing her arms irritably.

Sora suddenly jumped and glomped her. "You're so cute when you do that face!"

Yanagi pulled him off and threw him aside. "Now's not the time, Sora!"

"Aww..." It was Sora's turn to pout now.

Rosuto gave a cough to disrupt them. "We'll go visit Kita in a couple of hours after we train, alright?"

"Alright!" agreed the two genin.

* * *

Kita silently watched the lost souls wander around aimlessly in her front yard. She had temporarily given up on trying to get her chakra to work again and had decided to test out the Cat's Eye. The stress of today had been too much to allow her to focus.

She dropped down to lay on the deck surrounding her house. Flashbacks from earlier that day played through her mind. _How can I let this stuff affect me so much? But... all those people at the market... I remember going there in the mornings with Dad when I was little and all the shopkeepers would say hello and be so nice to me. They'd even give me treats sometimes. But today... today, all I got were stares. Nearly everyone has changed. I bet even the old man down at Imaichido restaurant hates me now. Things are never going to be the same as they were when I younger, aren't they? _

Warily, she placed a paw through one of the spirit's legs as it passed. The spirit was a young boy with a large wound on his head, the obvious cause of death.

_Home... where is home..?_ The spirit's voice echoed through Kita, making her shudder and pull her paw away. The spirit shuffled away.

_So many of them... how come they haven't crossed over yet? And why exactly are they lost? _Kita had never taken much thought into it. She decided to consult the expert.

* * *

"Nibi?" Kita appeared before the great cat, which seemed to be resting.

The bijuu's eye cracked open slightly. "Yes, what is it?" it asked sleepily. "If you're asking about what you should do about that old hag, I think you should give her spinal cord a good chew, and then devour her soul before her very eyes. Of course, I didn't really ever do the old tactics back in my time; I would just step on them."

Kita had a look of shock and disgust on her face. After a minute of staring, she found her voice. "I can't do that! And, ew, that's gross!"

"No it's not," replied the Nekomata. "It's the survival of the fittest. If you got it, you use it. And if you're weak, you deserve to die."

_No wonder people didn't like you..._ Kita thought. "Uh, anyway, I was going to ask you about the souls..."

"Well, unfortunately, I have a lot of work to catch up with when it comes to them... Yes, I did more than just cause delicious mayhem." The cat sniffed aloofly when Kita gave it a confused look. "In fact, your clan were my subordinates in a sense, since I couldn't be everywhere at the same time. We'd clean up all the souls, sending them off to where they deserved to go. Sending people to hell is still very satisfying, even after a millennia of doing it."

"So... you'd send souls off to be sorted, but since you were sealed away by the Tsuchikage, you've been unable to do that, and that's why it seems like Iwagakure is overrun by spirits?" asked Kita.

"That's the gist of it," nodded Nibi. "And unless I get out of your body, you're going to have to take over for me. Not that you'll end up not doing that anyway when you die..."

"Great," groaned Kita sarcastically. "I'm gonna have to get my contract started while I'm still alive!"

"Unless, of course, you let me out, nyan?" Nibi smiled hopefully.

"You're not going anywhere," Kita snapped back.

The large feline shrugged. "So much for wishful thinking. Well, how about you get back to training then, nyan?"

Kita pouted. "I can't concentrate."

"You'll never get anywhere at this speed, you know, nyan?" Nibi closed its eyes again and settled down to sleep.

"I know," Kita sighed and left.

* * *

"So, she's awake at last." Yanagi poked Kita in the head as she opened her eyes at last.

Kita yawned and stretched. She'd lost track of time while talking to the Nekomata. The sun was near setting by now.

"How are you feeling, Kita?" asked Sora, who was sitting besides her looking up at the clouds.

"Better... I guess," she answered.

Rosuto appeared in a flash of dust and speed. He took a seat next to Sora and handed them all an ice block. "I think we all deserve a treat after this morning."

The four of them sat in silence and ate.

"I saw Hana when I was coming back," commented Kita after she finished.

"You did?" asked Yanagi, turning to her and choking down the rest of her ice block.

"I take it you found out about her not making genin then." Rosuto chewed on the ice block stick.

"Did you guys know before me?" Kita's brow twitched, both irritably and curiously.

"Well, yeah, but..." Sora scratched the back of his neck. "It's not nice to talk about people's failures behind their back."

"People don't seem to care when it comes to me though," Kita mumbled softly, and then frowned. "So how many teams made it exactly then?"

"Only two: us, Team Omega, and Team Delta." Rosuto replied.

"Only two? I thought there would have been more." Kita sat up, looking curious.

"There would have been more..." Yanagi explained, "but a lot of parents took their children out of the academy after um... that... and you... Oh, you know."

"Oh. I didn't know..." Kita's ears drooped. One of her ears picked up again. "So who's in Team Delta."

"Tansei is..." Yanagi sighed lovingly, stars in her eyes.

"Yanagi-chan! I can't believe you're still in love with him, even when he's hardly noticed you for so many years!" Sora threw himself at Yanagi's feet and started to feign crying. "You've wounded my heart so deeply that nothing but the words 'I love you, my wonderful, darling, oh-so-strong Sora' from your perfect lips will be able to save me!"

Kita, Yanagi, and Rosuto sighed at his pathetic display.

"And... I'm not sure who else is." Yanagi tapped her finger to her chin, thinking. She ignored Sora until he crawled back to his place. "Rosuto-sensei, you'd know right?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." The jounin thought for a second. "Apart from Tansei-kun, there's Hyoumei Yume-chan (who would be from the Hyoumei clan), and Jieichou-kun (who is an orphan, if I remember right)."

"Who's their instructor?" asked Yanagi.

A small blush erupted over Rosuto's face and he looked away. "Migoto Rein."

Sora popped up behind Rosuto and wiggled his fingers over the jounin's head. "I am reading your mind, and it's telling me you like her!"

"Hey, stop that!" Rosuto grabbed Sora around the neck and put him into a headlock.

"He wasn't reading your mind." Yanagi rolled her eyes. "He's being stupid, and it's all over your face anyway."

Rosuto's blush deepened and he let Sora go. "It is?"

Kita edged over to him and used her tail to poke him. "I thought you were too old to fall in love, Rosuto-sensei!"

"Wha...? I'm not that old!" retorted the jounin. "I can't believe this; I'm getting ganged up on by my own genin!"

There was a deep chuckle and Kita's father swung down from the roof.

"Oh great, not you too Hissori..." Rosuto groaned. "How long have you been there for?"

"Just got here," he shrugged. "I had a mission helping some chuunin with a small cave-in down in the tunnels. But I heard enough to know what you're on about. You've had your eye on Rein-chan for a while now. Can't blame you, a lot of guys do, but she's a tough nut to crack. Asking her out on a date is considered an S-class mission in itself." He laughed, then pointed to Rosuto's pocket. "I know you keep a photo in there."

"Photo? Let us see!" Sora, Yanagi and Kita all pounced on him, tackling him to the ground.

"Hey, no! Hissori, help!" Rosuto flailed to get them off. Hissori only laughed harder.

"I got it!" yelled Yanagi victoriously, brandishing the photo and waving it around. She took a look at it. "Wow, she's beautiful!"

Rosuto gave up and laid on the ground. "She became a jounin around the same time I did, though she's a few years younger than me."

Kita examined the photo. It looked like someone had taken it after tapping her on the shoulder, because she looked surprised. The woman was very beautiful, almost as much as Yanagi's mother was. She had light purple hair that fell to her shoulder blades, with bouncy curls on the end. Her eyes were an extremely bright blue, almost aqua in colour. Despite her surprised look, there was a hint of a smile on her face.

"I think I have a new love!" exclaimed Sora.

"No you don't!" yelled Yanagi, Kita, and Rosuto, who snatched the photo back.

* * *

**A few days later...**

Once again, Kita found herself lying on the deck of her house watching the spirits drift past. Somehow, this was the only thing that seemed to relax her in recent days. Kita breathed a gentle sigh and remembered back over the past few days.

"_What is _she_ doing here? I didn't ask for the demon child when I asked for some ninja to help me out!" _

"_I don't care that she's a cat! I'm not letting that thing near my crops, even if I _do_ have a crow problem!" _

"_How dare you bring that horrible creature here with you!" _

"_What were you thinking, going around without that thing on a leash? There are children here, you know!" _

"_She doesn't belong here! Why hasn't the Tsuchikage put her out of her misery yet?" _

The list of insults went on and on- Kita was torn between crying and screaming out in rage. But no matter how she felt, she knew anger wasn't the answer. Her father had explained the situation enough to her when she had come back.

_I wonder how the guys are going...?_ she thought briefly. Rosuto had relieved her from duty for a little while in order to let Yanagi and Sora complete a mission. Kita didn't blame them for wanting to complete a mission without her, not that they had said it; it had been her own idea and they had reluctantly agreed. Whenever Kita was insulted, she knew that her team mates took the insult as their own. Yanagi had 'accidentally' tripped the man over that had the crow problem at his farm. He had landed in a small pile of crow excrement and had then promptly thrown the team off of his property.

Kita sighed again. There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Kita was fairly sure it was the Nekomata trying to get her to train again. The cat wasn't able to talk to Kita unless she entered her mind to talk to it, or let her mind's guard down. However, the youma was able to convey its feelings through. At the moment it was feeling agitated with her so-called 'laziness'. She also had a feeling it had been messing around in her mind while she slept too... but Kita didn't want to think about it at the moment.

In fact, Kita didn't even want to think about anything at the moment. She shook her cluttered head clear and turned off her eye's ability. The sun was setting, basking everything in an orange light. Kita got to her four feet and decided to take a stroll across the rooftops, where there weren't any people to stare or spit at her.

Kita had reached her tenth rooftop when suddenly a voice startled her.

"So I finally get to catch a glimpse of the 'demon child' the village has been talking about. It's nice to see you again, Mitsukai."

* * *

**A/N: **I bet you don't know who it is :P Anyway... 

**About the Names: **

Finally, a bunch of new names! You won't see all of Team Delta together for a little while yet, but I just thought I'd give you an idea about what they're like.

**Hyoumei Yume**- Her name pretty much means 'Dream Manifestation'

**Jieichou**- It means 'Captain of the Guard'

**Migoto Rein­**- 'Beautiful Rain'. Rein is the Japanese pronunciation of rain in English; if you know a little about one of my online persona, Raine Joybringer, then you may see some similarities between them. It's mostly the hair and affinity for purple though :D

**History: **

I thought I'd give you a little information on what I've imagined for the advanced bloodlines of the Stone, so here goes!

Iwagakure used to be home to five advanced bloodlines, two of those being the Mitsukai and Kigaino clans (Sora's mother kept her maiden name and made him and his sister keep the clan name). During the war with Konoha, clans from two of those advanced bloodlines were wiped out, and one clan was all but wiped out except for one member. That was Mitsukai Hissori. The Mitsukai bloodline is a powerful one, allowing them devastating hijutsu. However, their bloodline does have a great weakness. It was a dark day on the field when the Mitsukai clan was nearly wiped out forever.

**Leave a review! -hugs-**


	13. Letter of Love

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **I found something interesting while looking through one of the newest chapters of the manga. First, just a little catch up- In Ninjutsu, there are 5 different kinds of chakra that can be converted. These are: Suiton (Water Release); Katon (Fire Release); Fuuton (Wind Release); Doton (Earth Release); and Raiton (Lightning Release... well, we haven't seen it used in the manga, but that's what everyone reckons). Anyway, in chapter 286, Yamato uses a ninjutsu called 'Mokuton'. This translates to 'Wood Release', and it is supposed that only the Shodaime Hokage knew about this ninjutsu type. Though, I am a little confused, not because Yamato knew the technique, but does this mean that the ninja of say, Kusagakure (Grass), don't know of the Mokuton ninjutsu type? Even though they would specialise in nature jutsu? It puzzles me... especially since I have something about Kusagakure coming up in later chapters... Erm... yeah... Anywho, enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**_Chapter 13: Letter of Love_**

Kita whirled around to fix her eyes on the person who had spoke. It was a boy her age with short, light green hair and stern-looking hazel eyes. He wore a camouflage-coloured sleeveless top and a pair of earthy brown pants that were tucked into a pair of heavy-looking black boots. What caught Kita's eye the most was the Stone hitai-ate wrapped over his right shoulder like a piece of armour.

The boy smirked smugly and walked over. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Tansei-kun?" asked Kita suspiciously. The look on his face made her nervous.

He nodded- the smirk still on his features. "So, you do remember me then. I would have though you'd have forgotten about me since buddy-ing up with those two losers."

Kita was shocked and taken aback by his words. "Yanagi and Sora aren't losers. I don't get it... I thought they were your friends!"

"Friends," Tansei spat the word. "They're nothing but traitors."

"What's your problem, Tansei-kun?" Kita asked, confused and angry.

"Don't call me Tansei-kun like you know me." His nose wrinkled up in disgust. "They're traitors because they're friends with you, that's why." He looked her up and down and laughed shallowly. "You call yourself a ninja? You're nothing but a demon, that's all. And if it wasn't for my uncle, you'd have been kicked out of this village years ago."

Kita felt herself grow angry. What had happened to the Tansei she had known? "You know what? You've become a real jerk! Of all the people in the world, I wouldn't have suspected this from you!"

The green haired boy glared at her. "It's not me that's changed, it's you. What you did was open my eyes to the truth about how things are really done around here. I can see now that my uncle was a weak-minded, overly-optimistic fool for letting a monster like you become a ninja. He's a fool for thinking you could become a great ninja and even become the next Tsuchikage some day!"

Kita's eyes widened. "Is-is this all that's about? You're afraid I'll become the next Tsuchikage?"

Tansei flinched slightly.

"Wait..." Kita narrowed her eyes. Things were starting to make sense as she saw the anger in his eyes rise. "You're jealous, aren't you? And you're afraid of someone becoming stronger than you and taking away the crown you think you deserve. And... that's why you threatened Hana, isn't it? To make her so nervous that she'd flunk the exam! That's low, Tansei... You're the one who doesn't deserve to be a ninja."

She'd hit a vein. Tansei seemed to explode with anger. "Hana's even worse than you! She's a weakling with no guts and all she'd do is make the Stone crumble with her indecisiveness! There's no reason why her father should have even tried to train her in the first place! I'm the one with the talent! I'm the one who should be head of this village!"

"So it's true then," Kita interrupted. "You ruined her, and you've moved onto your next victim. And if you take me down, then who will it be next, Tansei? Who next until you're happy? Sora, who's been your friend since before the academy? Yanagi, who's always admired you from afar, but you've never taken the time to notice?"

"Shut up, demon!" Tansei roared. "You're a monster, and nobody in this village wants you! You should be put down!"

Tansei pulled out a kunai and charged at her with the intent to kill in his eyes.

* * *

It all happened in a split second. Tansei went to stab Kita in the back. Kita snarled and retaliated, striking a large paw out with claws extended. As Tansei's hand started to come down, Kita's claws raked up the side of his arm, cutting through his flesh and leaving three shallow gashes. Tansei gave a yell of pain, but continued on his path. The kunai slammed deep into Kita's left shoulder. It was Kita's turn to give a cry of pain. 

Kita's damaged leg gave way underneath her. On the step incline of the roof she stumbled, falling onto Tansei. The two tumbled down the tiles and off of the guttering to the street below.

People screamed and pointed, running to get out of the way of the falling cat and human. Tansei saw the ground and pushed off of Kita, landing on his feet in a crouched position. Kita swivelled around in mid-air, landing like only a cat could. She gritted her teeth as her injured leg landed. The kunai was still embedded in her shoulder, in a place she couldn't get to.

The street went instantly silent until the shock wore off and murmurs started to rise through the crowd.

Tansei eyed the situation and gave a tiny smirk. Here was his chance.

Clutching his arm, he started to yell at the crowd. "Get away from her! She attacked me while my back was turned! She's gone mad, she'll kill you too! Keep back!"

The crowd gave an audible gasp and stepped back.

"No!" Kita yelled back. "He-he was the one who attacked me first!"

"Liar!" shouted someone in the crowd. "You attacked that poor boy! Look at the wound you gave him! You're a monster!"

The crowd shouted in agreement.

Kita's eyes went wide; there was no way they'd believe her, not with the injury she had given Tansei in her defence. And even though her's was more serious, his looked much worse. Tansei had secretly spread as much blood over himself as he could, making is seem as though he was going to drop dead at any second. Someone ran over to Tansei and handed him their jacket to tie up his arm.

"I'm alright," he said to the crowd. "But that monster's not. I defended myself with a kunai; she's weak at the moment."

As one, the crowd started to advance, Tansei's lies driving them to breaking point, where their anger had already been surging up against her for all those years. This 'attack' had driven them over the edge. Kita suddenly knew it was futile to try and explain what had really happened.

"This is the last straw!" yelled a man suddenly. "We've put up with this creature for far too long!"

"Yeah!" agreed a woman. "It's time she was kicked out!"

"Kick her out? Why don't we just rid ourselves of her forever instead?"

"We shouldn't have to put up with her existence any longer!"

The crowd closed in. The fur on Kita's neck shot up in pure fear. She was trapped, the roads were blocked. She looked up to the wall that was next to her. It was the only way out. Gathering all the strength she could muster in her legs, she leapt onto the wall, her claws digging into the weak plaster of it. It started to crumble away. Kita threw her paws up and continued to climb, trying to ignore the pain in her shoulder that burned like hell.

The crowd booed lustily, yelling for her to come back and face them. Kita ducked her head down as a barrage of stones, vegetables and bottles, was thrown at her. Glass shattered near her leg.

Kita continued to climb, hoping that the wall wouldn't suddenly crumble away. She reached the gutter, painfully clambering on to it and scrambling onto the rooftop.

_What do I do! What do I do? _She thought frantically, looking up and down the deserted rooftops. It was only a matter of time until the crowd followed, or had the ANBU sent up after her.

_Why don't you go to that waterfall place?_ The Nekomata's voice echoed in her head, her panicked mind letting its guard down enough for the bijuu to talk directly to her. _But you'd never make it there with that leg though. _

_Well, fix it then! _Kita snapped at it. _Because, if I go, you go too! _

_Fine,_ the cat sniffed. _But I can only heal it if I'm in control of your body._

Kita peeked down at the crowd, who were growing visibly angrier. _I don't trust you enough. How do I know you won't attack them?_

_You're just going to have to, I suppose. _

Kita weighed up her options. She had no choice. _Alright, but you had better get there _without_ any incidents happening- because even the Tsuchikage will be after our blood if you do. _

She closed her misty purple eyes. When they opened again, they were a golden yellow. The kunai in Kita's shoulder popped out as the youma started its work, but before anyone noticed the changes, the cat was gone, leaving nothing but a black blur running over the rooftops.

Tansei strolled away through the raging crowd; he smiled even though he was in pain. It had been worth it in the end. _Run Mitsukai... run and never come back.

* * *

_

"We're here," Nibi announced in a satisfied voice, letting Kita take back control of her body.

"Thank you," she mumbled gratefully, looking around. They were definitely through to the other side of the mountain. _I hope nobody followed. _

_Do you doubt me so much? _asked Nibi, sounding wounded by her words. _They hardly even saw me. _It chuckled suddenly.

_What? _Kita questioned.

_You were so worried I would kill someone along the way, but because you've been so lazy with chakra training, it was hard enough for me to even get your shoulder repaired. I doubt I could have even sent a mouse to Hell with the pathetic state of your body. _It gave a short laugh.

_Why didn't you tell me that in the first place! _Kita demanded.

_Where's the fun in that, nyan? _The cat purred. Its voice suddenly became serious. _Anyway, this is the perfect opportunity for you now. _

Kita tensed up, her fur bristling angrily. _Perfect opportunity! Are you crazy! I nearly got slaughtered by my own neighbours, had you worry me half to death with your sick sense of humour, and on top of that; there's absolutely no way I could go home now with those people on the loose!_

_But exactly. You. Can't. Go. Home, _replied Nibi, emphasising every word.

_Huh?_ Kita blinked, her curiosity sparked. _Explain please?_

_For one thing- no, I'm not crazy, just wiser than you. And what I meant was that this would be a good time to go on a training trip. _

_Training trip? _Kita thought about it for a second, glancing at the tunnel that lead back to Iwagakure and animosity. _Maybe it would be for the best... to get away from here for a while._

_Alright then, _Nibi said approvingly. _What we'll do is this..._

Kita nodded and listened intently.

* * *

Hana looked downcast at the ground; she had heard the news and had rushed as quickly as she could to inform Sora and Yanagi. 

Yanagi was shouting off a rant about what she would do to the people who attacked her friend if she ever got her hands on them. Although, she didn't think far enough ahead to realise that that number could have been in the hundreds.

Sora tried to keep a level head after hearing the news, though by looking at his fists, his whitening knuckles could tell you he was just as angry as Yanagi.

"So," he said, trying to keep his voice quiet and calm. "This is what you heard from Tansei, Hana-chan?"

Hana nodded, tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes which still held their gaze at the ground. "Cousin Tansei said Kita attacked him, and then when he told the crowd, she ran off. Now she's disappeared and everyone thinks she's guilty. I heard while I was coming here that some search parties have started up, but they seem to be more like hunting parties. Tansei said that he'd stabbed Kita with a kunai in defence, but apart from on the roof and on the street, there's no blood going in any direction. They found the kunai up on the roof, but that's all. Nobody saw which way she went."

"Tansei-kun! I can't believe I was in love with you!" Yanagi screamed, punching her fist against the wall of the bridge where Hana had found them finishing up from a mission. "When I get him, I'm going to tear him a new-" She started off on a new rant.

Sora frowned. "There's no way that story could be true. Kita wouldn't have attacked anyone like that, especially not Tansei."

Hana nodded, her face going tomato red. "I-I think I know wha-what really happened," she stuttered.

Yanagi blinked and fell silent.

The green-haired girl started to fiddle with the bottom of her shirt, feeling their stares on her. But it was time she said something, she owed Kita that much. "Before-before the genin exam, Tansei threatened to kill me if I passed." Yanagi and Sora's eyes widened. But Hana continued. "After... After I failed, he started to become interested in Kita. He'd always listen to what my father would say whenever he started to talk about her. He-he seemed to become very angry when my father said that one day Kita could become the next Tsuchikage. He became jealous of her, just like he did with me when my father chose to train me over him at some times. I-I thi-think that Tansei had planned this somehow, to make Kita angry and attack him, then get the villagers to chase her away."

Sora gritted his teeth. "That bastard... that low-lying, deceitful bastard! How could he do something like that?"

Yanagi started crying hysterically, her anger finally giving way to sorrow. She clung onto Sora's arm and sobbed. "What'll we do Sora?" she cried. "Kita might be dead already! We gotta tell Rosuto-sensei, or even Hana's father!"

"I don't think there's anything we can do..." Hana whispered. "Everybody thinks she's guilty because she's gone into hiding."

Sora patted Yanagi. "I don't think she's dead, Yanagi-chan. The Nekomata wouldn't allow it. Maybe they couldn't find any blood was because it healed Kita?"

Yanagi nodded in silent agreement. "I just wish I knew where she was... I'm worried, Sora."

"We are too," Sora and Hana replied.

Suddenly, Yanagi's eyes widened and she unwrapped herself from Sora's arm. "I think I know where she is guys!"

"You do?" asked Hana excitedly.

"Shh!" Sora put a hand over her mouth as he quickly read her mind. "If people knew, they'd be onto her in a second!"

"What should we do then?" Hana whispered.

Sora thought for a second. "We'll meet here later tonight, at 11pm. I'll get Hissori-san to come with us. Yanagi-chan, you get Rosuto-sensei, and Hana-chan, you get your dad as well. Tell him everything. It'll be top secret, okay? So don't tell anyone, especially not Tansei or any of the villagers."

Hana and Yanagi nodded. "Okay."

"Alright, let's go. See you tonight." Sora waved and ran off.

"See ya, Hana. And... thanks for being brave. Kita would be proud you spoke up." Yanagi smiled sincerely and ran off as well.

Hana let a smile even more sincere escape. _I hope that this can repay you for your kindness and concern, Kita._ She ran off in the direction of the Iwa Tower.

* * *

**11 o'clock that night...**

Six ordinary villagers stood atop a bridge that led over the river that cut through the town. Hissori, Sora, Rosuto, Yanagi, Benkeino, and Hana had all used _henge_ to transform themselves into what looked like one of the 'hunting' parties that were currently still roaming through the town. Even despite the late time, there were still people up, too afraid to go sleep in their beds with the thought that a man-killing demon was on the loose. Many people had armed themselves with weapons and fire-lit torches.

"This is horrible event," commented the Tsuchikage, gazing over his village. Even he had been affected by what he had heard. "It seems as though everyone in this village has a grudge against Kita."

"It definitely wasn't helped by all those rumours people spread." Hissori's brow twitched.

Rosuto put a hand on his old team mate's shoulder. "Nothing we can do now. Not even the ANBU were willing to help disperse and calm down all these people."

"What'll we do when we find her?" asked Yanagi. "She can't come back to the village."

"They'll kill her if they see her." Sora frowned.

The group looked grim.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," the Tsuchikage replied. "Our main objective is to find her first."

The six of them started to walk off the bridge into the crowds below. The blended right in; nobody suspected who they truly were.

It took an hour to weave their way through the packed streets towards their destination. Any visitor to the village would have thought a festival was going on, but the lack of festive activity and the talk of death to a certain girl-turned-cat would have told them otherwise. When the small group finally reached the outskirts of the village and had made sure nobody was watching, they dropped their illusions and took off into the forest towards the tunnel.

The Tsuchikage inspected the dirt around the tunnel. He spotted a light paw-print just before the tunnel. "She's definitely been through here. It must have been at least six-seven hours ago." He squeezed himself in through the tunnel entrance and led the way.

"This seems awfully familiar," Sora whispered to Yanagi. She nodded, a grim smile tugging at the edge of her lips.

The group edged around rocks until they came to the tunnel end and squeezed out.

"Kita!" called Yanagi, running over to the edge of the waterfall pool. Sora and Hana joined her.

"Kita, where are you?" shouted Hissori.

"_Kuchiyose no jutsu!_" Rosuto slammed his hand onto the ground and Usako appeared.

"Yeah, what is it? I was trying to sleep." The punk-rabbit quickly fixed his hot pink bed hair up.

"Usako, can you smell around and try to catch Kita's scent?" Rosuto asked with a no-nonsense voice.

The rabbit's ears picked up at the tone of his voice; this was no time to fool around. He started to sniff the ground, hunting for her scent. He caught it coming out of the tunnel, and followed it, explaining as he went. "She came out here, and then went over to the waterfall. She was there a while... maybe waiting? Then she went this way, and then towards the trees, stopped for a while, and then back to the water." Usako sat up on his haunches. "I've lost her scent. She must have gone into the water and followed it down. Nothing more I can do, sorry." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Hey, what's that?" Hana asked, pointing to the trees where Usako had just been. A large, familiar looking sword was stuck into the side of the tree.

Sora went over and pulled it out. He looked it up and down, a disgusted look on his face. "It's Hasaki's Ghost Head Sword. We forgot we left it here." The tassels were soaked in old blood. Sora had no doubt whose it was either. He grimaced at it.

"But... it wasn't in that tree the last time I saw it," Yanagi remarked.

"That's because Kita wanted us to find it. Sora, turn it over." Rosuto walked over, motioning for him to flip it over.

"Hey! There's writing here!" Sora exclaimed.

"I thought so." Rosuto nodded. Hissori leapt over and took the sword. There was indeed writing on the sword, roughly scratched into the metal with claws. He started to read it.

_ Hi Dad, and everyone else, _

_ I'm sorry, but I've decided to skip town for a while. I'm sure you understand why. There's just no way I can stay here any longer, not after what happened earlier today (I'm sure you would have found this pretty much as soon as I left). I won't be gone for long, just for a while, so please don't classify me as a missing-nin! And please, don't come after me, I beg you. Nothing good will come of it if I return earlier than I plan to be gone. Things will be a lot different when I return, I promise. _

_ Anyway, I'll see you all in around a year or so. _

_ Love from Kita ;3_

_ P.S. Sora, Yanagi, Rosuto-sensei, sorry I've put Team Omega down a member! But maybe Hana would like to join you for a while, just to learn some more stuff (If that's okay with her)? Anyway, can't wait to see you again! _

_ P.P.S. Dad, I love you. _

The sword dropped with a clatter to the ground. Kita had left Iwagakure.

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**A/N: **Tansei is a jerk. Wow, I sure can make some pieces of work... put your hand up if you're part of the 'I hate Sora's mum, Akujo, and Tansei club'! I vote myself president. And put both your hands up (and wave 'em like you just don't care! X3) if you're a part of the 'I love Kita/Yanagi/Sora/Hana/whoever club'! XD

Anyway, expect Kita back soon, along with some surprises. :3 From here on, it gets interesting.

Oh, and if you have questions on anything relating to this story or Naruto in general, I'll try and answer them. Though, I'll try and not reveal any spoilers (I don't think anyone noticed the little hint I put in at the notes part of the last chapter... hehe...). And, I don't think anyone noticed quite a while before Hasaki that when Kita first met up with Team Omega, Rosuto was reading a bingo book that had an entry about him 'man with a strange sword'... :P I'm hopeless...

**Read and review, kthxbi (XD)**


	14. The Cat Came Back

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **I was actually arguing with myself wether or not I should do a filler, but I decided not to- it might unintentionally ruin things later ; So, anyway, here's the continuation of Two Tailed Angel, a year later from where we left off. Things will definitely get more interesting.

(Just noticed the front page thingy) Aww, no more review replies within the story? That sucks!

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**_Chapter 14: The Cat Came Back_**

**Around one year later...**

"So, what do you reckon Rosuto-sensei wants us for?" asked a boy with spiky blue hair. He wore a dark blue jacket on top of a white t-shirt, along with a pair of baggy dark orange pants with a number of pockets in them. A Stone hitae-ate was wrapped around his right leg. On his feet was a pair of open-toed brown sandals. His dark orange eyes glinted as he looked beside him.

"More garbage collecting? Another cave-in down in the old mines? Who cares, it's all been pretty boring. I'd rather be training," replied a girl with silky-black hair tied in a low ponytail using her Stone hitai-ate. She wore a white beanie with thin light brown stripes on it, along with a pair of orange sunglasses on top of her head. Her sleeveless top was a colourful affair, accompanied by a short red skirt with a black lace-like belt around it. Black sleeves covered the lower part of her arms; they matched the long sleeves of cloth on the calves of her legs. Her shoes were open-toed black sandals. A pair of steel fans hung from her belt. Her bright blue eyes glimpsed across to the dark orange ones.

"Hey guys!" A girl with dark green hair appeared. Although she looked the same as always, Hana had gotten rid of her braids, replacing them for a shorter haircut that reached to her shoulders. A bright green headband kept her hair out of her caring brown eyes. A first aid kit hung around her belt.

"Hi Hana!" Sora and Yanagi waved at their guest team mate. Hana had decided to join up with the team temporarily to relearn all the basics and build up her confidence so she could become a medic-nin. Her trip to the hospital and her talk with Nurse Bara had gotten her thinking about becoming a healer, someone who could help out on the field. She had yet to enter and pass the academy exam, but she wanted to make sure she was confident first, and also, she wanted to pass with perfect marks.

The three joked about what their next mission could be and started to walk onto the bridge that the team always met on. Rosuto was there, waiting for them. He hadn't changed a bit, with his frosty blue eyes, bandana-covered brown hair and green and brown jounin clothes. But there was something different today; a woman was standing next to him on the bridge. She and Rosuto were talking and laughing together like they knew each other well. The woman had long silver hair and wore a light pink kimono.

Hana, Yanagi and Sora walked up. The woman and Rosuto stopped talking and turned around to them. The woman looked at them all in turn with green eyes.

"Hey Rosuto-sensei, did you get a girlfriend?" asked Yanagi teasingly.

"But I thought you liked Rein-sensei," commented Hana curiously.

Sora raised an eyebrow and strode over to the woman. He looked her up and down sceptically.

"Sora! Don't be rude!" Yanagi gasped and pulled him back.

"But, she's shielding her mind from me somehow! She's not normal." Sora pouted, gazing at the woman again. "Are you some kind of ninja?" he asked.

"Maybe..." The woman smiled suspiciously. She winked at him.

Sora's jaw dropped open suddenly as the woman unshielded her mind temporarily. He gasped and started pointing, waving his hand frantically. He tried to talk, but all his mouth did was open and close like a fish's.

"Sora?" asked Hana and Yanagi worriedly.

Rosuto laughed. "I see he's finally figured it out."

"Figured out...?" started Yanagi.

The woman glowed briefly and seemed to melt away before their eyes. Her long silver hair gained a purple tint and a heavy black streak in its fringe, splitting off into two ponytails as it did. The kimono melted away into a ruffled dark purple skirt and an open-shouldered gold top with short sleeves that ended in black bands. A black tank top with thin straps appeared underneath, followed by a black choker. On her hands, long black fingerless gloves appeared; on her feet, tall shiny, black boots appeared. The gloves and boots both had a white stripe running down them. A Stone hitai-ate appeared, hanging off her hip. The woman's green eyes turned a misty purple. But what surprised the group most was the pair of cat ears that appeared where human ears would normally be.

Sora snapped out of his shock. "Kita!" he yelled and glomped her.

Kita giggled. "You got me!"

It was Yanagi and Hana's turn to stare in shock now.

"When did you get here!" demanded Sora, pulling her up. "And why'd you have that henge on? And where have you been?"

Kita took a deep breath. "I got here a couple of hours ago after I saw the Tsuchikage and my Dad. Then I came and found Rosuto-sensei and he sent Usako out to get you all and pretend he had a mission. I wanted to surprise you, so that's why I disguised myself, but also because I didn't want the whole village to see. And finally, I can't tell you where I've been because it's supposed to be a secret." She nodded after she was done.

"Kita!" Hana and Yanagi glomped her after getting over their own bouts of shock.

Yanagi poked one of Kita's ears. It wiggled. Yanagi poked it again, with the same reaction. "These are real!" she exclaimed.

"Of course they are, I am a cat, aren't I?" Kita's ears wiggled again as they were poked by both Yanagi and Hana.

"Hey, yeah!" said Hana. Yanagi's personality had rubbed off on her after being with her for a year. "How come...?"

"I call it the _Nekomusume Henge_," Kita replied simply. "This is me, but only to an extent. I, uh, haven't figured out how to get my ears to disappear yet." She smiled, poking them herself.

Rosuto coughed. "Well, looks like Team Omega is all back together. Why don't we start anew and give our introductions?" He smiled. "I'm Hoshino Rosuto, special jounin of the Hidden Village of Stone and leader of Team Omega."

Yanagi bowed. "Hi, I'm Jotei Yanagi, a genin of Team Omega."

Sora bowed. "Heya, I'm Kigaino Sora, also a genin of Team Omega."

Hana bowed. "Hello, I'm Ishi Hana, a guest medic-nin-in-training for Team Omega."

Kita bowed. "It's nice to meet you all; I'm Mitsukai Kita, returning genin to Team Omega."

"Welcome back, Kita!" Her team mates scooped her up into a hug. Kita laughed. She had missed this.

* * *

It was a familiar scene- Team Omega sitting on the front deck of the Mitsukai house, eating ice blocks. Though, this time there was an extra member and another was no longer a cat.

"Ahh, opposable thumbs, how I have missed you!" giggled Kita, holding her ice block in a hug to her face, not caring about it melting on her cheek.

"Oh, that's right!" exclaimed Yanagi, almost dropping her ice block. She looked slightly annoyed. "Because of you not being here, Kitty, we missed the Chuunin Exam!"

"Chuunin Exam?" asked Kita. She was feigning confusion; of course she had heard of it during her travels... In fact, she had been glad they had missed it.

"But then again, so did Team Delta," Sora pointed out.

"Uh, what exactly happened to um, Tansei anyway...?" asked Kita quietly.

"He's still in Team Delta. Father gave him another chance," Hana replied, just as quietly, but her voice rising with anger. "He's on probation though, if he pulls another stunt like he did with you, he'll have his hitai-ate taken away."

"Oh," Kita said in response.

"Anyway," Yanagi jumped up. "We can enter the next Chuunin exam now that you're here!"

Kita choked on her ice block for a second. "Are you sure you don't want to wait until the next one?"

"Wha? But Kitaaa!" Yanagi cried out. "I had so been looking forward to the last one! And they cancelled the one they had earlier this year, not that we could have entered it anyway, but still! There's no way we're going to miss this one!"

_If the last one was cancelled... then that's means a lot of people from the last one will be showing up. _Kita winced. "Alright... I'm up for it. Where is it being held this year?"

"It's being held in the Grass Country in the south in one weeks' time. You showed up right on time, Kita." Rosuto chewed on the leftover stick from his ice block and fished out three documents from his pouch. "These are the entry forms. I've been keeping them with me just in case. Fill them out and return them to me tomorrow. We'll set off in three days' time, so you'll need to be packed by then."

"I won't be able to participate, but I'll come and cheer for you guys anyway!" smiled Hana.

"Thanks Hana." Rosuto gave her a thumbs up.

* * *

Kita clicked the chopsticks together in her hand and gulped as she prodded her meal of steak and vegetables. She worked around the meat, not touching it at all. 

"So, what did you see while you were- huh, you're not eating your steak Kita. Something wrong with it?" asked Hissori worriedly.

Kita shook her head. "No... I've just decided to go vegetarian for a while, that's all."

Hissori raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Alright then... I suppose."

"Uh, I saw the ocean; it's bigger than I thought it'd be." Kita tried to get the conversation back on track. "I learnt a lot of stuff too. I'm not the under-trained genin you knew before, Dad."

Hissori chuckled. "I had no doubts about that. Anyway, plan to do some training before the Chuunin Exam? I'd like to see what you've learnt."

Kita looked hesitant for a second before she talked. "I was kinda hoping that you'd be able to show me some things you've learnt."

* * *

Later that night, Kita stared out at the moon from her window. A breeze gently blew through her hair and she breathed in deeply, enjoying the night air.

_So Kit, are you happy to be back in the place that drove you away?_ Nibi's voice sounded in her head. This was the first time it had decided to talk since she got back.

Kita's mouth twitched in a smile as the youma called her 'Kit'. The two had created a kind of bizarre hate/love relationship over the past year. She knew Nibi was in a good mood whenever it called her 'Kit'. _Well, none of the villagers have really noticed yet, so I'm enjoying while I can. It's nice to have a home-cooked dinner for once too... the vegetables were nice. _

_What's wrong with eating the raw flesh of weak animals? _The bijuu asked humorously.

_You know precisely what's wrong about it. _Kita sighed.

_We've been over this a hundred times already, Kit. Other animals kill each other; it's called the food chain. And you shouldn't have to worry just because you're like me and have instincts. _

"That's what worries me though... Let's just drop it and get some sleep then," Kita mumbled, stretching out to sleep. That was another good thing about being back; her old bed, and she could actually relax for once, even if was only a few hours before dawn. As she fell asleep, her body dissolved back into her cat form.

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Kita drifted through old memories whilst she slept. Her days at the academy, being at the hospital with Nurse Bara, spending time with her team... the day the villagers turned on her... She leapt out of the stream of old memories into a stream of her newest memories. Some of them were disturbing, to say the least. But others... there had been some happy moments as well. But that entire time that she had been away, she had yearned to return before she was meant to. It had been thanks to the Nekomata that she hadn't come running back into the village.

The next morning, Kita rolled off the bed onto all fours. She yawned, stretching out and getting the kinks out of her body. After she was satisfied that she was properly awake, she closed her eyes, letting her body transform back into her human form. One of the handy things about having some of the Nekomata's abilities was that she could transform into a human without using the henge technique, although it was only a female she could turn into. Kita had been confused by this, but had chosen not to chase the matter up with the Nekomata, just in case she didn't like the answer. Though, she suspected it had to do with the cat's liking to confuse people and then eat them...

Kita shuddered and went downstairs to breakfast; she could smell fresh bread being toasted.

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**A/N: **Yaaaay, things are back to normal... well, as normal as it can be :P The Chuunin exam is coming up real soon, so expect it!

I must apologise about the lack of jutsu lately... I like to think that a Naruto fanfic can run without every chapter being 'flash-bang-ooh!' action. I've seen a lot of fanfic from each side of those columns, and whilst I do enjoy the action (I always cheer whenever Tsunade punches someone...), I do enjoy the quiet (and fun) times and contemplations of the characters as well. Anyway, as you can suspect, the chuunin exam is coming up and that means a lot more action is to come! And, as I have said before, because this story attempts to follow the Naruto timeline, that probably means you won't see any familiar loud-mouthed, blonde-haired or certain angsty avenging genin. But you never know... Kita did travel a bit...

**About the Names: **

Isn't the Nekomata calling Kita 'Kit' just cute? A lot of fanfics have Kyuubi calling Naruto 'Kit', so I thought this would be a funny take of it. Hehe.

**Jutsu Used: **

**Nekomusume Henge **_(Cat-girl Transformation)_(Nekomata ability) Kita's shared ability from the Nekomata that allows her to shift herself into a human form.

In this ability, some traces of the cat form can be seen if the henge is done improperly, such as slitted pupils, fangs, claws, tail and ears. If human form is achieved completely, then all abilities of the Nekomata are temporarily suspended until the user introduces those imperfections that reveal they are a cat.

**See ya real soon, my ninja-peeps! -laugh-**


	15. Kusagakure

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **I know I can't reply back to reviews, but I can still answer questions if they're important enough, so if you got one, please ask away. I really want to make sure the story isn't confusing in any way.

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Chapter 15: Kusagakure _**

**Three days later...**

"Got everything? Got everyone?" Rosuto asked, checking off the list of people that were coming- Kita, Sora, Yanagi, Hana, himself, and Benkeino-sama. A number of the Kages were coming to the Chuunin Exam. Stories of the fierce competition from last year sparked interest throughout all the nations. Along with the Tsuchikage, there were rumours that the Hokage would be there.

"Uh, wasn't Team Delta coming?" asked Sora, tensing up and looking around for any signs of Tansei.

"They left yesterday with Tsuchikage-sama's personal guards. They wanted to walk the whole way there," replied Rosuto. "We'll see them when we get there."

Sora seemed to give a sigh of relief. "Okay then."

"I'm so glad we're not walking!" Yanagi ran around to the front of the large covered-wagon and pet one of the horses happily.

"Me too, I've had enough walking to last me a lifetime!" agreed Kita jokingly, jumping into the back.

Hana, Yanagi and Sora piled in after her. Rosuto took the front to act as driver, where Benkeino joined him to talk.

The cart started off with a groan as the horses pulled. Kita yawned suddenly. She hadn't slept much over the past few days from training with her father. She crawled over to a corner and pulled a blanket up, closing her eyes.

"You guys think you'll be able to handle the other teams there?" asked Hana.

Kita's brow twitched at her question.

Sora laughed. "There's nobody stronger than us, right Yanagi-chan?"

Yanagi gave a confident smile and twirled one of her steel fans around in her hand. "We've been training all year! We'll definitely become chuunin, I'm sure of it!"

Sora glanced over at Kita, who seemed to be sleeping. He looked back at Yanagi and Hana with a raised eyebrow. _I'm not sure_ _Kita feels the same way..._ he said to them, using his psychic powers to link their minds together in a conversation. He had finally figured out how to communicate telepathically a few months after Kita had left.

_You think she knows something we don't?_ asked Yanagi, glimpsing at the resting girl.

_It's possible,_ Hana nodded. _Though, I did hear the reports about what happened at the last exam, where Konoha was attacked by the Sand and Sound. She may have heard too. _She looked worriedly at Yanagi and Sora. _Some of the things I heard were pretty bad, so take care. They say there were demons in the last exam. _

_Demons? We shouldn't have to worry,_ Sora smirked, secretly jabbing a thumb at Kita. _We got our own personal demoness right here._

_Speaking of which, where do you guys think she went? _Yanagi continued to twirl the fan around in her hand.

_She's sleeping; maybe I can take a quick peek._ Sora shut the conversation off to focus on Kita.

The girl suddenly wagged a finger at him, keeping her eyes closed. "Don't you dare, Sora, or else you'll be having nightmares for a week."

"Aw, but!" Sora pouted and frowned.

"I'm serious, Sora. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get some real sleep. Cats are supposed to sleep sixteen hours a day, and I've hardly even had more than three hours in ages." Kita snuggled down under the blanket, hiding herself from view.

Sora sighed. It seemed as though that old Kita had gone, their meeting on the bridge and her laughter all a big act. What had that girl been up to during she was gone? And how much had she changed exactly?

* * *

"_Katon; Endan Renda_," The Tsuchikage seemed to spit out a series of small flaming bullets. They fell on the wood the group had collecting, causing an instant fire. 

"Tsuchikage-sama, I didn't know you could use fire jutsu!" exclaimed Yaangi, watching the fire rise higher and higher.

Benkeino laughed from his place beside the fire. "Just because I'm the Earth Shadow, it doesn't mean I have to know only earth jutsu! I understand you're trying to learn different ninjutsu, Yanagi. Maybe I could quickly teach this to you?"

"Oh, I'd love to learn it!" Yanagi squealed, jumping over beside him.

"Alright then, what you do is-"

Rosuto scraped at his teeth with a toothpick, then looked over at the cart. "Hey, Sora, go wake Kita up; she's missing dinner."

"Sure." Sora stood up and wandered over to the cart. He jumped up over to the lump under the blanket that was Kita and prodded it. "Kita, do you want dinner or-ack!" He yelped as he pulled the blanket away, revealing Kita in her panther form.

"Eh, nya?" Kita blinked her eyes open and yawned. "Sora, what are you yelling for? It's just me, calm down."

Sora had almost passed out in shock. Kita rolled her eyes and grabbed the back of his jacket in her mouth, dragging him out of the cart with her and heaving him next to the fire. All eyes were on her.

"What?" She asked crankily, still feeling asleep. "I'm not going to waste my chakra if it's only you guys." She spotted a plate of food leftover for her and pulled it over.

Everyone went back to what they were doing.

**A few minutes later...**

"_Katon; Endan Renda!_"

A barrage of small, fiery bullets erupted from Yanagi's mouth into the Tsuchikage's face.

"Tsuchikage-sama, are you okay? I'm sorry!" Yanagi gasped.

The man laughed loudly, looking perfectly okay. "I'm fine! Not even fire can harm me!"

Yanagi and the others laughed with him.

Suddenly, the man's hair caught ablaze. The Tsuchikage sniffed the air and his laughter puttered out. Hana screamed and grabbed a bucket of water, throwing it over her father's head.

The smell of burnt hair drifted through the camp.

"Okay... I think that's enough for tonight," Benkeino said from under the bucket, water dripping everywhere.

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**A few days later in the Kusa no Kuni...**

"Geez, haven't these people ever heard of mowing?" complained Yanagi as the wagon made its way through a field with impossibly high grass.

"I think that's why they call it the 'Grass Country', Yanagi." Hana gave a wry smile.

"Well, I sure don't like it." The girl crossed her arms.

"And you don't like it- then neither do I Yanagi-chan!" Sora crossed his arms as well.

Yanagi gave him an inkling of a grin.

Kita was lying at the end of the wagon with her paws hanging over the side. She sat up onto haunches as she heard Rosuto call out that they were almost near. A second later, and the human version of Kita was sitting there. She reached into her backpack and dug out a hot pink headband, placing it carefully in her hair. She turned to her team mates. "Does this make my ears look like they're fake?" she asked.

Sora shrugged. "I suppose so..."

Yanagi pulled the headband off. "It just makes them look even worse, Kitty. It looks like something Usako dug up from a sales bin." She threw it out of the cart.

"Hey!" Kita watched as it rolled into the grass and disappeared. "What am I supposed to do then?"

"Just tell people it's a bloodline limit." Yanagi flapped a hand.

"You can be so cold sometimes, Yanagi," Kita groaned.

"That's why I love her!" Sora leaned over and hugged the black-haired girl.

Yanagi gave him a death-stare. "Sora... let go before I whack you again."

"Kita, are you sure you can't make the ears disappear?" asked Hana, trying to ignore the scuffle behind her.

"I'm pretty sure," Kita looked away. _I can't tell them... not yet..._

"Hey kids!" Everyone in the wagon stopped what they were doing and turned towards the front. The Tsuchikage thumped a hand on top of the wagon. "Come and take a look!"

The four of them scrambled onto the top of the wagon and their eyes widened. A large hill started to form before them, out from the flat sea of grass that ran for miles. The town on top of the hill looked like a ship on the ocean, surrounded by a tall wall that protected it from attack.

"It's like Iwagakure," Hana observed, "but less dusty and with more plants!"

"Speaking of plants," interrupted the Tsuchikage. "The Kusagakure Nin are infamous for their skills in nature, and their jutsu are not to be taken lightly. This is their territory, so keep your eyes open for any suspicious flora."

Team Omega nodded.

At the top of the hill before the gates, an ANBU from the Stone met them, part of the Tsuchikage's personal guards and who had left earlier with Team Delta. The ANBU member bowed as the Tsuchikage got off of the wagon.

"We safely escorted Team Delta here as you instructed, sir. We've also organised your accommodation too." The ANBU stood up again. "We have met with the captain of the Grass ANBU, and we have cleared up matters concerning any security risks happening whilst you and the other Kages are here. We have also obtained your security passes." He handed a number of passports to the Tsuchikage, who in turn handed them to the others.

"Good," nodded Benkeino approvingly, putting his pass in his pocket. "I presume the Hokage has arrived as well then?"

"Yes, sir- they arrived earlier today with their village's teams. A number of other Hidden Village teams have also arrived; however preliminary reports say that the number of teams participating this year is low, much lower than last year's."

"I thought as much," The man ran a hand over his stubbled chin, then turned to Rosuto and the others. "I think you should know now that you and Team Delta are the only teams from the Hidden Stone competing this year. The older genin teams refused to enter. I am sure you've heard the stories though. You do realise that I may have placed you all in a situation that may prove dangerous, but anytime you feel that you are out of your league, you are allowed to quit. Nobody will think any less of you for doing so."

"Some may even call it brave to quit," commented Rosuto, glancing down at them.

"We didn't come all this way to quit," replied Yanagi. Sora and Kita nodded.

The Tsuchikage nodded. "Very well, good luck to you all. Hana, come with me and help me get the wagon sorted out."

"Let's go then." Rosuto touched his hand to his hitai-ate and moved off towards the gate. Yanagi and Sora started to follow.

Just as Kita walked past, the Tsuchikage bent down. "Kita, you are a symbol of the Stone's strength. Don't crumble, and fight with all that you have been given. For it was destiny that you were given that power. You aren't in Iwagakure, so there is no need to be afraid of the people here. Instead, they should be afraid of you." The Tsuchikage walked back to the wagon to where Hana and the ANBU member were waiting.

Kita frowned and nodded, albeit a little reluctantly. She ran after the others.

* * *

The village was smaller than the Hidden Stone's, but by no means quieter. With the coming of the Chuunin Exam, travellers from all over had come to catch a glimpse of the competition. Kita felt a little more comfortable here than back home. With so many new and strange people walking around, Kita hardly even received more than a stare. Though, the locals themselves were rather peculiar. Kita was reminded of a garden as the group walked through the streets. Many of the Kusagakure citizens wore flowers and other kinds of plant life as a part of their clothes.

Kita almost laughed when a small child said 'Hey Mommy, look at the girl's pretty ears! Can I have a pair?' Back in Iwagakure, the child wouldn't have had time to look as their parents dragged them away from the infamous 'demon child'.

Rosuto checked a piece of paper in his hand. "This way?"

Yanagi looked at the piece of paper too. "Seriously, Rosuto-sensei you'd think you'd have a better memory- especially since this is where your beloved Rein-sensei wanted us to meet."

"We're meeting up with Team Delta?" Kita peeked at the paper which said 'Bamboo Café, Restaurant District'.

"The Restaurant District is down that way," Sora walked ahead, pointing.

"How'd you know?" asked Yanagi.

"I consulted a local." Sora rolled his eyes and pointed to a man nearby to them. The man was looking up at the sky and seemed very confused. He scratched his head, shrugged and continued on.

Yanagi rolled her eyes in response. "Let's just go."

Sora led them up through the crowd into a shaded street area that was blocked off from carts and wagons. There were a number of cafés and restaurants set up on the sides of the area with tables and chairs spilling out into the middle. Pots full of sweet-smelling plants were placed carefully around the place, making it look a little like a jungle. Near the back of the area, a café with a fence made of bamboo marked the spot where Team Delta and Team Omega were to meet.

As they neared, Kita spotted Tansei, and what she presumed to be the rest of Team Delta. A woman with light purple hair waved them over.

"Rosuto, nice to see you made it!" She smiled and stood up.

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**A/N: **Well, I hope that was a good chapter. Rein-sensei and her team are coming up right away next chapter! And also, we get to meet another few characters you may already know... Hahahah...

**About the Names: **

Remember, Kusa means Grass! So Kusa no Kuni means 'Land of Grass', and Kusagakure means 'Hidden Village of Grass'.

**Jutsu Used: **

**Katon; Endan Renda **_(Fire release; Round shot Barrage)_(Ninjutsu) (Fire element) (D rank) After gathering chakra in the lungs, the user can fire out a succession of fiery bullets.

This is a great distraction technique, and also handy for lighting fires without too much hassle. They're not flames, but more like red-hot bullets, which makes them more stable than pure flames.

**Will have more soon :D**


	16. The Day before the Inevitable

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Finally, it's time to meet the rest of Team Delta. I hope you'll find them all... unique in their own special way... Heheh... And a couple of special appearances in this chapter too I think you'll like too.

**Questions:**

1 - Does Sora's Bloodline allow him to take over people's minds or just read minds and communicate telepathically?

Sora's bloodline is different from Ino's (which isn't a bloodline technique, by the way). As you saw with Sora's mother, when powerful enough, they can enter a mind and search through it, but it won't allow you to take over. Once again, you'd need to know Ino's technique (or Orochimaru's), because only another soul can take over a body.

2 – Will there be any OC and Naruto character romance or will it be strictly OC X OC?

Hmm, I'm still not sure on that... If I end up going off-plot in the end because of what the manga is doing currently, then I may do that.

3 –How different is this Chuunin Exam gonna be different from the one in Konoha?

You're going to have to wait and find out; however, the exam will feature the three different parts that make up the exam- ability to gather information, survival ability, and strategic battling ability.

* * *

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* * *

Chapter 16: The Day before the Inevitable _**

"Rosuto, nice to see you made it!" She smiled and stood up. Migoto Rein looked exactly like in her photo. She wore a plum-coloured halter top with two straps that crossed over around her neck. She wore black fishnet stockings with a dark purple split skirt over the top. On her feet were a pair of black ninja sandals, and matching were a pair of black fingerless gloves. Her Stone hitai-ate was worn normally, but turned around onto the right side of her head. Her bright blue eyes shifted to the rest of his team. "And you must be Yanagi, Sora and Kita, right?" She pointed to each one of them as she said their name. Her eyes rested momentarily on Kita's ears, but only for a second.

The three nodded and bowed.

"Wonderful!" She smiled again. "And this is my team, stand up guys and introduce yourselves!"

Behind her, three genin stood up, one which they recognised.

"Ishi Tansei," nodded the one they knew. Sora, Yanagi and Kita glared at him until he sat back down.

"Jieichou," said the boy next to him, though he could have been mistaken for a girl at first. He had long, light-grey hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and dark grey eyes. He wore a white shirt with wide sleeves that went past his fingers and a black vest with puffy panels over it. His pants and boots were black as well. He wore his hitai-ate like a scarf, the elongated ends flapping behind his back. He sat down, seeming a little bit uninterested with the situation.

"Oh, you two are so boring!" said the girl on the end in a high-pitched, childish voice. "I'm Hyoumei Yume-chan!" She poked out her tongue and winked at Team Omega with bright pink eyes. Nearly everything about the girl was pink, except her short, bouncy blonde hair, which had a large pink flower in it. She wore a pink t-shirt with gold flowers sewn onto it, along with a pair of hot-pink shorts. White socks reached up to her knees under a pair of pink sandals. She had placed her hitai-ate much like her teacher's, but on the left side of her head.

"And I'm Migoto Rein, as you should know. I'm sure Rosuto has told you all about me." She looked across at Rosuto with sparkling eyes.

Rosuto blushed slightly, but covered it up by pretending to readjust his bandana. "Uh, yes, but just a little."

"Will you guys stay for some dinner?" asked Yume, quickly glancing up at Sora.

Yanagi instinctively stepped a little closer to Sora when she saw the other girl look. Sora's eye twitched slightly as his mind caught up on Yume's thoughts. Kita was trying her hardest not to put the death-glare on Tansei, who was in turn trying not to back. Jieichou just looked irked.

"Uh, I think it would better that my team get settled first... It's been a long ride." replied Rosuto, giving his team a worried stare. "So, I guess we'll see you tomorrow at the start of the exam... Come on guys."

Rosuto was about to drag them away when the team turned around as one and left, almost storming off. Rosuto gave an apologetic smile, then went to catch up with them.

"I don't like them," announced Yanagi, crossing her arms.

"Neither," Sora frowned, for once agreeing not only because it was Yanagi that had said it first.

Kita stayed silent.

"Hey, guys, they're not all bad." Rosuto raised an eyebrow at them.

"Well, Rein-sensei seems okay, I guess," Yanagi shrugged. "But I _definitely_ don't like Tansei or that Yume girl. And that Jieichou guy seems like a jerk. What do you reckon, Sora?"

"That Yume girl gives me the creeps..." Sora shuddered. "Everything in her mind is pink! And don't even ask what she was thinking when she was looking at me!" He latched onto Yanagi. "I need a hug..."

Yanagi weakly patted his shoulder, then pushed him off. She looked over at Kita. "How about you, Kitty?"

"You know what I think." Kita's ears were flattened down angrily.

"Uh, yeah, stupid question..." Yanagi felt awkward for a second. "Rosuto-sensei, the exam is tomorrow?"

The jounin nodded. "Yeah, so don't bother unpacking your stuff at the hotel. If they do like what they did last year, you guys may be away from town for a while."

"That doesn't sound good," replied Yanagi. "I mean, what'll I do about my hair?"

"No matter what happens to your hair, it will always look amazing, Yanagi-chan! Your hair is so wonderful; it could even make a cow look good if you put it on it!"

Yanagi whacked Sora over the head.

Kita smelt the air, ignoring the spat. Her ears picked up slightly, though nobody noticed. _So... he's here too...

* * *

_

**Elsewhere in Kusagakure...**

A boy with rusty red hair paused and frowned. "She's here..."

"Huh? Who's here?" asked an older girl beside him, glancing across at him with green eyes.

The boy didn't answer, instead choosing to walk on.

* * *

**Back at the Bamboo Café...**

"They seem okay, but I'm not sure I like them," grumbled Jieichou, picking at the sushi on his plate.

"That Sora boy is okay," smiled Yume, giggling and taking a sip of pink lemonade.

"They're all traitors, as far as I'm concerned." Tansei growled, stabbing his fish with his chopsticks. He glanced at Yume for a second, grinding his chopsticks in further.

"Tansei, don't get so worked up. And remember, you're on probation." Rein eyed him closely. "The exam starts tomorrow, so save your frustrations for then. Then you can beat whoever you want senseless."

Tansei's mouth twitched in a grin.

"Rein-sensei! You can be so evil sometimes!" Yume giggled again.

"I didn't become a jounin by being nice now, did I?" Rein gave a positively devilish grin.

Jieichou continued to pick at his sushi in silence.

* * *

**At the Kusa-Nin Main Building...**

A man named Ouritsu Jouryoku clasped his hands together on the table. His skin had a green tint to it, making him look like he was about to be ill. It matched his mood though. He was worried with the agreement to meet both the Tsuchikage and Hokage. If there were two leaders that should never be put in a room together, it would probably have to be those two. The Stone and the Leaf were both adversaries from many years before when they both entered a war against each other, however it had been the Stone which had been worse off in the end. They were still resentful from the defeat, though less since the Third Hokage had passed away. Jouryoku ran a hand through his slightly-sweaty burgundy hair.

"The Hokage-sama said she'd be here soon," he informed the Tsuchikage who sat opposite him. His green eyes turned to the doorway.

Benkeino heard footsteps from a pair of high heels behind him. He stood up and turned around. "Tsunade-dono..."

"Benkeino-dono..." the woman replied, almost bitterly with a hand on her hip. She looked young, in her twenties, with golden-brown eyes and straw-coloured hair in two low ponytails. She sat down at the table calmly.

"Well..." Jouryoku inwardly gave a sigh of relief after the two greeted each other without anything more than words. "It is an honour for both the Kages of the Fire and Earth countries to come to our small village and watch this first ever United-Countries Chuunin Exam... since the last one was cancelled."

"Thank you for agreeing to host the exam, Jouryoku-san," Tsunade nodded.

"Yes," interjected Benkeino, "considering what happened last time." He glanced across at Tsunade. The woman's thin eyebrows twitched.

The relief Jouryoku had felt before fled. "Uh, well yes, it will be an enlightening experience for all of the genin involved."

"Speaking of which, the three parts of the exam have been set up accordingly?" The woman's brown eyes flickered back to the Leader of the Grass.

"Unfortunately, some _–minor-_ adjustments have been made." Jouryoku's green eyes were nervous.

"_Minor_?" inquired Benkeino.

Jouryoku sighed. "The number of teams that have entered this year... We will have to combine the first two exams into one."

"Hm... Yes," Benkeino crossed his arms and leaned back. "One of my guards told me that reports said that attendance was much lower this year. There are only two teams entering from my village this year."

"And only three from mine," Tsunade added with a glance. "I'm not surprised really, with the stories and rumours that have spread since the last exam. Many teams were afraid of the same happening this year. Last year held many vicious opponents."

"I don't think this year will be any different," Benkeino said, looking at Jouryoku. "I have heard rumours about the kind of ninja you are training here."

"As have I with you, Beikeino-sama," the man replied, giving a small smirk.

Tsunade frowned, her eyes shifting between both of the men. "I'm not sure what you are talking about, but what I meant was, Sabaku no Gaara has once again entered the exam. There are rumours he is the next in line to be made Kazekage after he graduates."

"Tsunade-dono, don't you think we know that?" Benkeino said. A smile tugged at his lips. "My village is not to be trifled with. Sabaku no Gaara may be a strong opponent, but even he can't stand against the might of the Stone."

"It seems as though we have a small competition going," remarked Jouryoku. "I shall have to enter my own 'bet' then and warn you that it is the Hidden Grass that will be the winner in all this. Tsunade-sama, I understand you like a little friendly betting, yes? Do you want to enter your own stake?"

"I think I will pass on this." The woman stood up, finally understanding what they were talking about. "I am sorry, but I will have to excuse myself. Good evening to you both."

Tsunade strode out of the room, her green robe billowing out behind her. To be frank, she was disgusted with them both, using children like betting chips in some gambling game. Kami-sama knows _she'd _never use Naruto like that, even if he were here. Her curiosity was sparked, however. Who were these children they were talking about? And what were they possible of? Tsunade shivered, despite the warm weather.

* * *

**Later that night...**

As usual, Gaara was not sleeping. Instead he chose to sit on top of the roof of the inn he and his siblings were staying at. Temari and Kankuro were both sound asleep. Gaara almost felt jealous of them... How long had it been since he had had a dream...?

As he thought, he heard a sound on the tiles behind him. In a flash he turned around, throwing an arm out and commanding his sand. The sand flew out of the gourd on his back and swallowed up something black.

The red-haired boy stood up and walked over to whatever it was that his sand was holding inside it. He pushed the sand back a little, revealing a large panther-like creature with silver stripes and purple eyes, which stared at him.

Gaara reached out a hand, curling his fingers. The creature shut its eyes...

* * *

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**A/N: **Eep! Things may get a little messy...And also, I hope you're keeping up with all the cutscenes and such... there will be quite a few during the exam. They'll give you some interesting insights to what else is going on around the place.

**About the Names: **

**Ouritsu Jouryoku-** It means Royal Evergreen. His skin is greenish, so it fits.

**Leave a review:D And if you got any questions or suggestions, please go ahead. **


	17. The Exam

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **And finally, we move on to the exam at last. But first... let's see how Kita and Gaara are getting along...

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* * *

Chapter 17: The Exam _**

The cat started to purr, as suddenly Gaara began to scratch it behind the ears.

"Hello, Mitsukai Kita," Gaara said calmly.

The cat opened her eyes again, giving him a mischievous look. "Nice welcome, do you do this to all your visitors, Gaara?"

"Only those who try to sneak up on me," the Shukaku vessel replied. "However, they usually end up with their mouths full of sand."

"And dead," added the Nekomata vessel.

Gaara sat down and let the sand fall away to retreat back into his gourd. Kita landed softly on the tiles. She padded over and sat next to him. As he watched, she melted into her human form. The two sat in silence for a while, looking out over the village.

"So," said Kita after a while. "How have things been since I last saw you all?"

"Fine," replied Gaara shortly.

"I've been okay too," Kita said, not expecting him to have asked. Her voice softened. "I haven't had anymore accidents since I last saw you..."

Gaara's eyes flinched across to her. In his mind, a past memory of blank purple eyes and the smell of blood drifted up.

Kita continued, her tone returning to normal. "Anyway, I went back to Iwagakure finally. Somehow, even though it's where I grew up, it's not like it's even my home anymore."

"When people hate you, anywhere else is better." Gaara leaned forward, crossing his arms over his knees.

Kita sighed, stretching her legs out and laying down. "Yeah, you're right."

More silence. Gaara wasn't exactly the one to talk, but when you had something in common like what they had, it didn't matter.

"Kita," Gaara said suddenly.

"Yeah?" Kita blinked. Usually it had to be her to start the conversation.

"Have you... felt another presence here?" He glanced across at her with cold green eyes.

"Presence? You mean as in how we can sense each other from other normal people?" Gaara gave a short nod. Kita looked down on the city and closed her eyes. She took a long breath in, trying to feel for another person who also had something in common. After a minute, her eyes widened and her ears twitched. "There... I felt it. But it's so faint. Almost like an illusion..."

"They're in this village," Gaara stated.

"It's not that guy you were talking about to me once, is it? Nar-something?" Kita raised an eyebrow.

Gaara shook his head. "No, I would know if it were him. This presence... it's different. Near, yet far."

"Yeah, I got that too." Kita scratched her neck and looked up at the sky. "Do you think they're a genin from this country?"

"Perhaps... We will have to keep an eye out for anyone who has a remarkable power."

"Because, just like us, that person will also be in danger from the threat Shinigami-sama warned me about. We'll need to warn them as well." Kita sighed and looked over her unlikely friend. "I'm glad that you're here too, Gaara."

Kita stood up. Gaara's eyes followed her. The girl smiled at him and turned back into her feline form before leaping off into the darkness. Gaara returned to watching the village. His mouth twitched in a smile, something that happened only very rarely.

* * *

**The next day...**

"Yanagi-chaaaan! Good morning!"

"Sora! Get off or so help me I'll- Ack!"

"Morning Rosuto-sensei..."

"Mornin' Kita!"

Hana gave a concerned smile from her place at the table. "Uh, guys, everyone's looking..."

Sora and Yanagi stopped and looked around- she was right. The other people from the inn were staring at them. In a flash they were both sitting down and civilly eating breakfast.

Kita stifled a loud yawn. Sleeping had been hard after she returned. Yanagi snored loudly at night, and being able to hear so well made it even worse. Kita munched on a piece of toast with butter on it.

"Are you tired, Kita?" asked Hana.

"What!" exclaimed Yanagi, tuning on Kita. "The first exam is today, you can't be tired! I forbid it!"

"Well, you shouldn't snore so much then," grumbled Kita in response, putting her head on the table.

Hana slid a cup over to her. "Drink this, it'll help."

Kita sighed and took a sip. Her ears pricked up as she instantly felt more awake. "What is this?"

"A special tea," Hana smiled. "Father always drinks it in the morning and he says it's the key to how he became Tsuchikage." She laughed softly.

"I want some too!" Yanagi gasped and grabbed the cup, slurping it down.

"I'll get some more then." Hana grabbed a couple more cups.

Rosuto also yawned. "Get me some too, would you Hana?" He gazed across at his team. He'd never felt more worried for them at that moment. "Are you guys ready?"

"I am now," Kita grinned.

"Great, well, the exam starts in an hour, so after this grab your stuff and we'll go." Rosuto accepted a cup of tea as Hana came back.

Sora, Yanagi and Sora started to eat a little quicker.

* * *

**The Chuunin Exam- Part One: The First Day...**

Jouryoku watched as the genin teams walked in. There definitely were a small number of them, around 24 teams- less than a half of what participated last year. He took note of the stronger teams that walked in; though the number was small, it was more about quality than quantity this time. When all the teams had convened on the bottom level of the Kusa-Nin Main Building, he started his speech.

"Welcome, genin participants to this year's Chuunin Exam!"

Everyone looked up at the man on the small balcony that overlooked the bottom level. The man continued.

"It is the extreme pleasure of..."

Whilst the man continued to talk, Kita took a glimpse around at the other genin. They had been right about the small number... Team Delta stood beside them; both Rein and Rosuto had retreated to the back of the hall with some of the other jounin teachers that had travelled to the event. Kita noticed that they both were glaring at a silver-haired man with a face mask on and his hitai-ate slanted over his left eye. The symbol on the metal indicated he was from the Leaf. Kita didn't blame Rosuto and Rein for glaring at him- the war with the Leaf had likely killed many people they had known.

Her eyes slid over to the teams from Konoha; there were three teams, all of them looked very confident. A boy with long dark hair and his back turned to her mumbled something and made a motion she couldn't she. The girl standing next to the boy, a girl with a Chinese top and a dumpling hair style turned her head a little to glance back at her. Kita quickly changed her gaze.

Her eyes landed on a group of local Kusa genin. She instantly raised an eyebrow. One of the boys had instantly caught her interest for some reason. He looked around a year or two older than her and had shaggy brown hair with white tips. She couldn't see his face... but there was something about him... Kita couldn't place a finger on it. She wondered...

She felt a nudge from beside her. Sora elbowed her lightly and nodded up to the balcony. _He's about to tell us what the first part of the exam is about_.

Kita refocussed.

"-all luck that you will pass, or at least come out of this alive." There were some chuckles in the crowd. "Now, the first part of the exam, I must inform you, has been cancelled."

"What?" came the cry from the crowd.

Jouryoku waved his hands. "No, no, don't worry! Instead, because of the number of teams taking place, the first and second part of the exam has been combined. This will make the exam undeniably harder than it was last year. I will now explain the first part of the exam, so please listen."

Any mumbling left in the crowd fled.

"As you would know, the usual aim of the first part is to test your ability at collecting information, and the second part is to test your survival skills. This year, however, both of these have been combined." Jouryoku held up a scroll case with the word 'Nin' on it. "See this scroll? There is one for each of you, all with your current shinobi information on them." Some people in the crowd looked shocked. "Yes, though, be assured that not _all_ your information is on here. Just what the enemy needs to know in order to strategise a plan."

"Hey, that's not fair!" yelled someone. "You shouldn't be giving our information away like that!"

"Now, now, it's all fair. You see, this is what you're fighting for in this exam," Jouryoku gave a smile, waving the scroll. "It's like real life; if an enemy wants to get information on you, all they need to do is ask around, trade other information, fight for it. This is just half of it though, as it has been combined with the second part. And take note of this: your individual scroll is not going to be given to you. You're going to have to find it. However, instead of only looking for your own, you may want to collect as much information possible on other genin- because, if you make it to the next round, then that information may come in very handy. The only way you can pass this part is if you have at least two scrolls in your possession."

"Are we allowed to open the scrolls during the exam?" asked a genin.

"Yes, you are," the Grass Leader nodded. "In fact, if you are able to come up with a strategy, and feel as inclined to do so, you may want to hunt that person down and take them out before they even make it. However, it would be hard if you do not have a scroll on that person's team mates. Oh, and some scrolls may not contain as much information as others. Some of you out there are very tricky when it comes to keeping your secrets... a secret. That is where strategy will come in. You may want to find your own scroll and protect it from others, and if you find a team that has your own or another genin you are interested in, you may want to either fight them for it, or trade. The decision is up to you. Now, please follow me and we'll get started."

Jouryoku jumped onto the ground and started to walk out of the building. The genin followed.

As Kita walked through the door, a voice started to shout.

"Hey, you, wait up! Yeah, the cat-eared one!"

Kita turned around to see who had yelled. A trio of three burgundy-haired girls with thin sashes made out of roses ran up to her.

"Excuse me," said the first one, the oldest with her sash made out of roses in full bloom. "But my sisters and I were talking,"

"And we were having a little argument about your ears," interjected the middle girl, her sash made of flowers in half-bloom.

"And we were wondering if they were real or not?" finished the youngest one, her sash made of flower buds.

Kita blinked. These girls were... a little weird, like clones of each other. Their bright green eyes stared expectantly at her.

Suddenly, the girls were around her, poking and feeling her ears. They flickered in surprise and the girls gave a squeal of delight. They started to poke them more and more, getting faster and squealing louder.

"If you don't mind, I think my team mate would like to get to the first part of the exam." Yanagi had her hands on her hips and looked irritated. She grabbed Kita's arm and dragged her out of reach.

The fur on Kita's ears had puffed up during the commotion. She growled and flattened them down.

"How troublesome," commented a boy a little older than them in a green chuunin jacket nearby- he was travelling with the Konoha ninja.

Kita wasn't sure if he was talking about her or not, but gave him a short glare anyway, then moved off away from them towards a group of Cloud genin.

"Rei-kun, Uteki-kun, let's do our best, okay?" asked a cheery girl with curly, light brown hair. There were brown lightning bolt shaped tattoos on her jaw. She also wore some kind of strange looking armour over her arms, shoulders, and legs. She had a warm smile as she looked at her team mates.

The one called Rei smiled back at her. "Sure, Mikomi-chan." He was a boy with wild black hair, white sleeveless shirt, white baggy pants, red gloves, and a red hitai-ate. He held what looked like a spinning top in his hand.

The other, Uteki, nodded and grinned. He had bright gold hair that spilled over the top of his black hitai-ate. He wore a dark blue shirt and pants, though only flashes of which were seen under a large black robe. His green, with gold flecked eyes were surprising to all those that noticed.

_Wow, it seems as though everyone's got their guard up,_ Sora commented in Yanagi and Kita's minds. _I can barely even read people's surface thoughts. _

He slowed down a little to wait until the girls were beside them.

"Some people are already gathering chakra," Kita whispered.

Yanagi glimpsed down at the feet of other people. Some of them had the light blue glow of chakra flickering out.

"What should we do then? Should we start thinking of a strategy?" asked Yanagi. Kita held a finger to her lips.

"We can't talk like this right here with everyone around. I'm sure some people would be listening in." Kita glimpsed around. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea. "We're better off thinking of something after we start."

"Yeah," agreed Sora. "They'll obviously have a large area to hold this in, so we'll find a good place first."

The girls both nodded.

Sora continued to try and read the surface thoughts of the other teams, trying to gather information. A lot of people were too nervous to even think, though the general vibe that Sora got was 'I wonder what's on my scroll?' Sora had the same thoughts exactly. His advanced bloodline was his biggest advantage, along with his genjutsu. He had been training on his taijutsu over the past year too. He had improved from before, but it still wasn't a big strength of his. He unconsciously squeezed his hands into fists.

Yanagi's hand bumped into Sora's as they walked beside each other. The two glimpsed at each other and blushed slightly, pulling their hands away.

Yanagi's brow was furrowed; she was nervous too about what her scroll had on it. She had been reading those ninja scrolls on weapons, taijutsu and ninjutsu for ages now, memorising and practising everything on them. She was a little jealous of Kita and Sora, but had worked hard so she could be a valuable asset to the village, just like them. Yanagi took a deep breath and told herself to be confident. She was just as good as any of the other ninja here, maybe even better. She was confident in her skills; she wouldn't let anyone down.

_So..._ purred the Nekomata in Kita's mind, _feeling confident, nyan?_

_Yes,_ Kita replied. _You trained me after all. Though I am nervous about what could happen if-_

_Don't let it bother you, Kit, _Nibi cut her off; its voice serious. _If it does happen, just make sure you're far away from those brats you call team mates._

_Hey, don't call them brats._

_I call you a brat sometimes, don't I, nyan? _Nibi laughed, its voice fading away into the back of Kita's mind.

Kita inwardly let out a sigh of frustration and decided to look around again. Many of the teams didn't catch her eye, apart from a few. She took note of the 'worthy' teams she thought would have a better chance in the exam: Team Delta; the three Konoha teams; two of the Kusa teams, the clone girls and the one with the boy that had interested her before; the Cloud team that had she had heard talking before; a team from the Mist; a team from the Snow; and...

Kita didn't even have to look to know about the last team she had on her mind- The Sand Siblings...

"Welcome to Training Plain number one, the scene for the first part of the exam!"

Team Omega looked up to the high wall as the gates opened before the entrants. The sun shone through, making people cover their eyes. When they got adjusted to the light, they saw the sea of grass before them, stretching for a few miles before turning into a dense forest.

"Now line up please and I will explain things a little further!" Jouryoku had leapt onto the top of the wall to survey them all. "Hidden in this training area are 72 scrolls, each of them containing information on a particular genin! They are hidden throughout different areas, in different terrain, which may prove either detrimental or beneficial to your team. Your job is to collect at least 2 each, or else you will be disqualified from the exam. Use whatever means possible to gain information. You have 5 days in which to complete this part, and then you will assemble back here. Oh, and be careful, because some of my examiners decided to have a little fun by setting up traps around the place." Jouryoku held up a siren.

"3..."

The teams tensed up.

"2..."

People began to gather chakra.

"1..."

They took a breath.

"GO!"

The siren blew.

In a flash, all the teams had disappeared into the sea of grass, weaving thin trails of waving grass in their wake.

There were some screams and a loud crash.

Jouryoku chuckled. "Looks like the fun has started,"

* * *

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**A/N: **Hooray! It's the start of the first exam! I'll be away for a little while over the holidays, so sorry for leaving you hanging (laughs). A few new names, so let's get started then. You'll find out the group of clone girl's names later on.

**About the Names: **

**Cloud- **

**Gold Team-**

Rei- It's a play on 'rai', which means lightning- You may also notice slightly how he resembles a certain Beyblade character I like. Rei also means 'zero'.

Mikomi- She's so nice, so I just named her Hope.

Tsuiraku Uteki- It means Falling Raindrops. My friend came up with it :D

**Happy Holidays, and leave a review please :3 **


	18. Trickster

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Well, here it is- the start of the exam, at long last! I love playing games :3

**Questions: **

**Q- Translator? **

**A- **Try freedict .com.

* * *

_**Chapter 18: Trickster**_

**Team Omega... **

Kita and her team leapt over a large hole that had just swallowed one of the teams. There were strangled yells from below in the dark. Team Omega didn't want to stop and see what was happening- it didn't sound pretty.

"Where to?" asked Yanagi.

"This grass area makes it way too easy for other teams to launch surprise attacks." Sora looked around. "Especially for the Grass Nin, this'd be perfect for them."

"We'll try and find cover in the trees," Kita nodded. "Watch out, Yanagi." Kita pulled Yanagi across to her, away from a spring-loaded trap with metal teeth.

"Oh my gosh..." gasped Yanagi. "They actually put things like _that_ in this?"

"When he said it'd be harder, he meant it." Sora frowned. "And these are just the simple traps from the examiners, designed to trip up the less experienced teams. Imagine the traps being set up by the other teams."

Kita and Yanagi frowned as well.

_Sora's a lot smarter than he seems..._ Kita thought. _Or did he just read somebody's mind to get that info?_

There were more screams behind them.

"Come on, I think the Grass nin have started." Sora picked up the speed.

"Any scrolls that are in this area can be counted as theirs now," commented Kita. "Any teams that come in (desperate or not) will definitely get trapped by them."

Sora nodded. "My thoughts precisely,"

The three travelled quickly to reach the cover of the trees. They found a large branch high up in a tree to stop at. Together they looked around for signs of any other ninja.

_Maybe it'd be better to talk this way,_ said Sora, linking their minds together.

_Is there a way you could keep us linked, even if we're separated? _asked Kita.

_Yeah, that'd be handy!_ Yanagi agreed.

_I'd need to put a bit of chakra into it... but yeah, I could,_ Sora nodded. He placed his hands onto Kita and Yanagi's foreheads and focussed some chakra to strengthen the bond. _Done._

_Thanks, _Kita smiled. _This could be a big advantage for us. _

_We'll be able to think of strategies without having to say anything!_ Yanagi grinned.

_Yeah, so, what do you guys think we should do first? We have two choices really;_ Sora held up his fingers to tick them off._ Either go after our own scrolls first, or go for other teams. _

_I vote we go after your's first, Sora, _Kita replied. _Even having a hint of what your bloodline is could be really bad for you. Yanagi?_

_What about ours though? s_he asked.

_We'll go after yours too, though I really do think Sora's is more important at the moment. As for mine..._ Kita trailed off, thinking.

_It probably won't have any useful information on it at all, Kita, _Sora reassured her. _I'm guessing that they got this information from the different villages not that long ago, maybe a few weeks. You only returned a week ago. I doubt they'd have much on anything. You haven't even shown _us_ what you can do yet... _

Kita nodded. _Makes sense, and don't worry about it, you'll see soon enough. So, where do you think your scroll would be hidden?_

_I bet I know where it is,_ Yanagi beamed. _I noticed something- when the green-skinned guy talking to us said that the scrolls would be 'hidden throughout different areas, in different terrain', I think he was giving us a hint. Down in the grass area, I bet there'd only be information on Grass Nin. If other types of terrain have information from certain areas, then ours would obviously be in a rocky terrain!_

_Wow, good thinking Yanagi! You're smarter than you look! _Sora gave her one of his big grins.

_Hey..._ Yanagi lightly bopped him on the head. _And also, because we need at least two, this encourages us to go into different terrains to look for information, unless you want to collect scrolls from others from your village... _

'_That may prove either detrimental or beneficial to your team',_ Kita added. _So eventually, we may end up needing to go into other areas. Well..._ Kita stood up. _Let's get going then. _

_But where's our area? _Yanagi stood up and surveyed the land.

Kita closed her eyes and smelt the air. _East, it's gotta be east. _She said.

"Alright, let's go!" Sora and Yanagi leapt off of the branch down into the lower levels of the forest.

* * *

**Back in the grass area a few minutes ago...**

"Is that...? It's a scroll! Hey guys, I found a scroll!" A Waterfall nin held up a scroll and waved it around.

His team mates appeared from the grass to join them.

"Hey, good job," nodded one of them.

"_Bankon no jutsu_!"

The trio of Waterfall genin screamed as strong grass roots from the ground rose up and pulled them into the soil.

"Well, that wasn't very hard was it? All we had to do was wait for someone to find one for us, and then take it for ourselves," chuckled a girl with short pink-brown hair. Her dark blue eyes sparkled mischievously. She wore a short white skirt and red crop top with a white vest and a long-sleeved fishnet shirt under it all, which matched her short fishnet stockings. She wore her Grass hitai-ate around her neck. When she tucked some hair behind her ears, she revealed a large pair of tulip-shaped earrings.

"You guys were way too easy to trap," smirked a boy with grey eyes and sandy blonde hair. He wore his hitai-ate around the arm of his long-sleeved brown shirt. He too wore a vest, though dark red, and it looked like it had once had sleeves on it from its frayed state. He wore baggy black shorts. He plucked the scroll from their hands and turned around. "So, was I right? We did end up finding one this way!"

"Fine, you were right," sighed the boy Kita had noticed before with the shaggy brown hair and white tips. His eyes were two colours; the right one blue and the left one green. He wore his hitai-ate as a back-to-front bandana, but it barely kept his wild hair under control. He wore a dark green vest on top of a faded army-green shirt with elbow-length sleeves. His three-quarter pants were a greenish-brown and tattered at the ends. A thick black collar hung around his neck. If someone looked carefully, they would have seen he had slightly pointed ears.

The girl put her hands on her hips. "Shuuki, whose name is on the scroll?"

The boy with sandy blonde hair looked at the outside of the scroll. It had the name 'Ouritsu Masakari' on it. Shuuki groaned and held it up for the others to see. "It's Masakari-chan's scroll! We already know about her!" He was referring to the oldest of the three sisters with the rose sashes.

"Let's keep it anyway- we may not find many more. And we could always use it for trade as well." The brown haired boy with the collar frowned. "I think we may have to leave this terrain and search for more. Come on."

The girl glimpsed down at the Waterfall nin, who had passed out.

The wild-haired boy looked back at her and waved. "Leave them, Rindou. The examiners will find them."

Rindou nodded. "Okay, Araiki. Team G2 move out!" She ran after them.

Araiki stared up at the sky for a second. Something had been different since yesterday. The _thing_ inside him had been a lot more content for some reason. He wondered why...

* * *

**Team Omega...**

_Stop, I hear something. _Kita's ears picked up and she looked below to the forest floor. _I want to see what's happening. _

_Kita!_ Yanagi's eyes widened as the girl silently dropped down towards the lower branches. Yanagi sighed and followed. _Fine, wait for me! _

_And me! _Sora dropped down as well.

Kita held a finger to her lips and led them towards where a lot of yelling was taking place. They could hear it clearly now.

"Ino-pig!" screamed one voice, a girl. "That's my scroll! Give it to me!"

"Fat chance, Forehead-girl!" retorted another girl. "I bagged it first! So it's mine! I want to see all your juicy information!"

"I wish Shikamaru was still here..." moaned a boy's voice, followed by crunching. "Ino and Sakura are uncontrollable when they're not fighting against other people."

Team Omega peeked out from around the trunk of a tree to see what the commotion was- a trio of Konoha genin were having a scuffle... well, two of them at least. A pink-haired girl was struggling with a girl with long blonde hair, who was keeping a scroll out of reach from the other. A chubby boy munching on a packet of chips was standing nearby, his back turned away from them. There was a number of kunai and shuriken around them, suggesting they had just fought off another team to gain possession of the scroll, which, by the sound of it, had the pink-haired girl's information.

Kita smirked. Now was a perfect time to play a trick. The playful side of her wanted to mess with people's heads.

_Sora, Yanagi,_ she stated, getting their attention. _I have an idea about how to get that scroll. I think you'll like it. _

Sora grinned as she told him and Yanagi the plan.

* * *

The two girls gave a huff and stormed a few feet away from each other. There was silence, apart from the munching of chips. 

"_Stuck up pig!" _

"_Queen of the foreheads!" _

Both girls turned around and started to yell at each other.

"What did you call me!" they both screamed.

The chubby boy raised an eyebrow. He hadn't heard anything- why were they both yelling at each other again?

The girls were in another scuffle, pulling at each other's hair and screeching. In their wrestling, the scroll the blonde girl was holding fell out of her hand and rolled down towards a tree. With the fight in place, nobody noticed as a piece of thin wire with a stretched-out bobby-pin latched onto the scroll and pulled it away.

Yanagi tugged at the wire, trying her hardest not to raise any suspicions. Slowly, but surely, the scroll finally came within reach. She grabbed it up and leapt through the branches to Sora and Kita, who were silently giggling. Sora had psychically yelled those names out to the girls.

_That was so simple! _exclaimed Yanagi, holding out the scroll which had 'Haruno Sakura' on the front.

The three ran for it, away from the fight.

"Ino-pig...?" asked Sakura, pausing in between pulling Ino's hair.

"Uh, yeah Forehead-girl?" Ino paused as well.

"Where's the scroll?"

"What? Chouji! Do you have it?"

"Uh, no?" The munching stopped.

"Ino-pig! You lost it!"

"It was your fault, Forehead! Ah! My hair! Let go!"

* * *

_That was easy! _Yanagi laughed. She handed the scroll to Kita to look at.

_I dunno... maybe a little too easy?_ Kita frowned. She put it in her pocket.

There was a break in the trees, forcing the three to jump down to the ground and run across to the next set of trees. Halfway through, a kunai landed in front of them.

Sora held out his arms and caught the two girls as a wave of kunai came their way. They leapt back and looked up.

"That was clever, using Ino and Sakura's tendency to fight against each other to your advantage," commented a boy with long dark hair and entirely white eyes which had veins bulging at either side of his temples. Beside him was a girl with brown hair done up in two dumplings. Kita recognised them from before when she was looking at the Konoha teams.

"Yosh, Neji! Ino-san and Sakura-san are filled with the Springtime of Youth! They cannot help that they are passionate about their fiery rivalry!" exclaimed a boy, jumping out beside the two others. He wore a spandex green body suit. His large eyebrows and bowl hair-cut made Yanagi, ever the fashion lover, gag internally.

"Give us the scroll," demanded the white-eyed boy coldly, "or else we'll have to take it from you."

"No way!" retorted Yanagi. Kita and Sora nodded as well.

_What's with that guy's eyes?_ Yanagi asked her team mates psychically.

_Some kind of doujutsu?_ Kita replied uneasily. _That's how he probably knows about the scroll. _

"Alright then, have it your way," frowned the white-eyed boy the green-clad one had called Neji. He waved an arm out. "Tenten, let's see how fast they are."

"Right!" The girl, Tenten, put her hands behind her back and pulled out a number of shuriken. In a fluid movement, she threw them, smirking, "I never miss."

Kita, being the quickest, was the first to react, leaping out of the way. "Sora! Yanagi! Move it!" she yelled.

Sora's eyes widened as the shuriken flew towards him. There was a clang and the metal stars fell to the ground, harmless. Yanagi clacked her steel fans shut, scowling at the girl who had thrown them.

Tenten glared back.

Neji's eyes twitched. He had been expecting it to have been easier with the three's ages. "Lee, that one with the cat-ears, she's got the scroll."

"Yosh!" Lee leapt off of the branch and sped towards Kita. He launched a kick at her while she was still coming down from her jump before. She had no time to defend herself.

Kita received a heavy blow to her side, knocking her through the air. She righted herself and landed on her feet.

"Kita!" yelled Yanagi, running for her. Another wave of kunai forced her back.

_He's fast... and strong. Probably faster than me, and when he kicked me, three was some kind of weight to his legs. _Kita held her hand to her side. _I don't know if we can take them on._

"Are you going to hand it over now?" asked Neji again.

Lee smiled and held up the back of his hand, twitching it towards Kita as a sign of challenge. Kita gave a low growl at the boy.

_I could use a genjutsu, _suggested Sora looking around him nervously.

_No, the boy with the eyes would probably see right through it. He knew I had the scroll in my pocket. That's why he got that guy to attack me. We need to escape... I have another idea. When I give the signal, run for it, then I'll come after. Ready... Go!_

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" yelled Kita, throwing her hand down, creating a large cloud of dust.

_Now! _Sora and Yanagi ran for it while smoke billowed over them.

"Wha, hey!" Tenten grabbed out some kunai.

"No, Tenten!" Neji held out a hand to stop her. "You can't see where Lee is. Those two are retreating, but they left the one with the scroll behind."

Neji leapt down onto the ground. Tenten followed. The smoke cleared, revealing Kita and a panther-like creature. Kita crossed her arms, looking confident. The panther let out a loud roar, protracting its claws.

Lee looked back at Neji, unsure what to do.

"Heh... Summoning a kitty to do your work for you... can't you fight for yourself?" Neji gritted his teeth.

Kita didn't reply, her face blank. She pointed a finger out as a sign for the cat to attack.

The panther roared again and started to charge at Neji and Tenten. Tenten tensed up, her kunai ready to throw. Neji crouched into a fighter's stance.

Just as the panther looked as though it was going to leap at them... it turned tail and ran into the forest.

Neji, Lee and Tenten looked flabbergasted.

The white-eyed boy regained his composure, going out of his stance. He smirked. "Looks like even your own summon feels we're too strong."

Kita only smiled in return.

"Neji," Lee blinked, as the girl stayed silent for several minutes. "I think that girl is mocking us!"

The cat-eared girl pulled her lower eyelid down and poked out a tongue. Her three opponents looked angered.

"Stop playing games and fight!" demanded Neji

The girl shook with silent laughter.

"Take this then!" Tenten threw a kunai at the girl's head. Kita made no attempts to dodge it and it landed in her forehead.

Tenten and Lee gasped.

"What is this?" Neji's eyes widened as the girl continued to laugh silently. "My Byakugan... She's not real!"

The girl winked at them, smiling and nodding. Suddenly, her body seemed to become blurry and turned white. Slowly, her body became white mist that faded away into the air.

Once again, Neji, Lee and Tenten looked flummoxed.

"What... just happened?" asked Tenten. "Neji?"

Neji frowned, trying to hide his confusion. "It was some kind of bunshin... but I couldn't see it. And I didn't see the other body at all. There was only... that summon."

The three looked back into the forest where it had run off, mulling over what had just happened...

* * *

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **Yay! Some more appearances from both old and new! I will explain Kita's jutsu next chapter. X3 Rock Lee roxxers, yosh! Anyway, I hope I got all those personalities right –phew-. I've tried to make the appropriate changes, such as with Neji. Since he becomes a jounin later on, it only makes sense that he'd have to be very good at leadership and that.

**Jutsu used:**

**Bankon no jutsu **_(Entwined Roots)_(Ninjutsu) (D rank) Calls forth roots under the ground to wrap up an enemy and pull them down. A jutsu used mostly by those of the Grass Country, where flora jutsu is quite easy to use.

**About the Names: **

**Grass- **

**Team G2-**

Genno Araiki- Basically means 'Wild Illusion of the Tree'. There's probably a few people out there who know who he is by now if they know their bijuu info right.

Rindou- It means 'Bellflower'. I thought it was a pretty name for someone from the Grass. It'd make sense that they'd name a lot of their kids after plants...

Shuuki- Mean 'Autumn Air', which I think is nice.

**Happy New Year, and please review:D**


	19. Key Importance

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **I'm going on another holiday for a week, so that's why I'm putting up another chapter... you lucky people you :P

**Questions: **

**Q- Sakura and Ino's scuffle? **

**A- **Haha... Erm... yeah, I know they should have matured a bit more, but still... you'd expect them to have at least one fight at some time or other...

**Q- Team Gai, tricked too easily? **

**A- **That was a tough battle to decide... With the smoke and everyone running around/going to throw stuff, it was very confusing. But I think that for the most part, Neji underestimated Kita's team. In other circumstances though, Kita and the others probably would have had no chance against them.

* * *

**_

* * *

Chapter 19: Key Importance _**

A large black feline appeared next to Yanagi and Sora and turned into Kita as they retreated further into the forest.

"I thought I was going to be dead meat back there." She wiped her brow and gave a sigh of relief.

_How on earth did you pull that off?_ asked Sora.

_I switched myself with a soul, _Kita grinned.

_Wha? How does that work?_ Yanagi blinked.

Kita looked thoughtful. _It's hard to explain. It's not really a jutsu. It's just an ability that came with the package,_ She pointed to her ears. _I can summon spirits to me at any time, though if I need them to do something, I need to give them some of my chakra. That's what I did back there. I guess you'd call it _Seishou Bunshin_, because I made the spirit take my form. _

_That sounds cool! _Yanagi exclaimed. _So, you could summon an entire army of the dead to fight for you?_

_Uh... not really,_ Kita gave a smile of embarrassment. _It still takes chakra, remember. I don't think I'd be able to sustain an army with my amount, especially since I transfer the soul off to the Afterlife when it has done its work. _

_Are you okay then? _asked Sora. _The last thing we need is you running out of chakra on us and becoming a potential problem. _

_I'm fine,_ Kita reassured them.

The three travelled for a while in silence.

Sora looked up at the sky. _It's getting late... And we haven't had anything to eat since breakfast. If we're going to survive through this, we're going to have to find provisions. _

_Yeah, I'm getting hungry..._ complained Yanagi, then shivered. _And cold..._

_There's still a lot of teams out there. We'd have to be careful about the place we pick. _Sora looked around, then down into the forest below. _Yanagi, I'll need your help. _He left the branch to arrive on the forest floor. Kita and Yanagi leapt after him.

After a few minutes of discussion and search, they found a hidden system of roots sticking out of the ground.

"_Doton; Iwa Honkyo no Jutsu!_" Yanagi finished the seals and a collection of rocks rose out of the ground to create a kind of stone-igloo. From the outside, it looked like the roots had grown over a large rock.

_Good work,_ commented Kita, stepping inside through a hidden doorway.

_Thanks,_ grinned Yanagi. _They used this jutsu during the war to create hideouts and traps. _

_So, what about food then? _asked Sora.

Kita stepped out of the rock. _You guys stay here and make sure the area is safe. I'll get food. And don't light a fire yet, it could attract enemies. _Before Sora or Yanagi could respond, Kita leapt up into the forest, dampening Sora's psychic connection so they wouldn't hear her.

Yanagi put her hands on her hips and pouted. "Fine then..."

* * *

_It's probably a good thing they're not around to see this... _Kita grumbled. 

_You're the only one used to these conditions, _Nibi interrupted her. There was silence for a few seconds. _You do know you could do this whole 'exam' thing without your team. They're just slowing you down. You could have easily taken those Leaf brats back there if they hadn't been there. _

_But they _are_ here, and I won't let anything happen to them, _Kita argued. _I had to get them to run from those Leaf ninja. And I was lucky that trick worked as well as it did. Also, I'm not sure I could have taken all three at once, even if you are confident in me. _

_Bah..._ sniffed the Nekomata. _You should have just let me tear them apart..._

Kita didn't answer. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was being watched. But she was also hungry for meat... and her mouth was watering as she smelt something in the near distance. She barely noticed as her fingernails sharpened into claws. The smell was so enticing...

* * *

**Not that far away...**

"Look at that... a kunoichi all by her lonesome," hissed a Hidden Rain ninja to his partners. The three of them were dressed in cream padded suits and gas masks. "What do you think she's doing?"

"Should we find out? We may obtain something valuable..." whispered another.

"What is with those ears though?" asked another. "She looks like a cat."

"They've gotta be fake... Come on already." The third one leapt to the next branch.

The other two followed. Together they kept watch as the girl with the silver-purple hair flew through the forest, stopping occasionally to sniff the air. Eventually, she stopped at a small grassed clearing, dark from the shade of the trees and growing evening. The grass was long and swayed in the approaching night breezes. A small herd of deer munched on the grass, completely at peace. They hardly even noticed as the girl with the cat ears silently entered the grass.

The three Rain nin watched from a tall tree, looking over the whole situation.

"She's getting dinner, I bet," whispered the first Rain nin.

"Yeah, and when she's done killing one, we're going to take it for ourselves," grinned the one beside him. "Why work when she'll do it for-"

A non-human scream echoed through the forest and one of the deer disappeared into the long grass. The other deers' ears picked up and they fled.

"Let's go get dinner, guys."

They leapt down into the grass and ran over to where the deer had just disappeared. They were met with a gruesome sight; the girl from before was gripping the struggling deer's windpipe in her mouth, slowly suffocating it. Blood dripped from where her fangs pierced the flesh, as did from where her long claws were sunk into the animal's neck. Her back was turned from them, hiding her eyes from view. Suddenly, the deer stopped struggling, its life extinguished.

The three Rain nin looked at the sight with wide eyes. The one that had proposed the plan recomposed himself and held out a kunai.

"Hey, you, get the hell out of here before we decide to hurt you."

The girl continued to hold onto the deer's neck, making sure it was properly dead. She did not answer them.

The Rain nin's eyes twitched angrily. "Alright then, if you choose to ignore us!" He threw the kunai at the girl's head.

She moved her head to the left slightly, letting it whiz past harmlessly.

She growled, letting go of the deer and standing up. She turned around and glared at them with wide, almost mad, purple eyes with slits for pupils. She bared her fangs and growled threateningly at them. Her knuckles cracked as she twitched her claws.

The one who had thrown the kunai stood no chance as she leapt at him, claws ripping through the flesh on his arms. He gave a scream of pain. His team mates froze, terrified at the darkness that seemed to radiate off of the girl.

The Rain nin shivered as he stared into the girl's eyes. Fear ran through his body; there was something behind them that didn't seem human.

"Get out of here, now. Or else I won't be able to promise you your lives," she hissed in his ear and got off.

The boy scrambled to his feet and ran. His team mates came out of their shock and fled after him.

Kita shook her head after they had left. _Damn it... Stupid idiots..._

She turned around to the dead deer, feeling sad for it. She knelt down beside it and stroked its head. "I'm sorry," she whispered and clasped her hands together in a prayer. "But thank you for your sacrifice so that my friends and I may eat."

She heaved it up over her shoulders and set off back to camp.

* * *

"The hell was that!" exclaimed one of the uninjured Rain nin, running behind his injured comrade. 

"She's... not human..." wheezed the injured one, holding his profusely bleeding arm. He stopped by a tree trunk and started to gasp for breath.

"Of course she's not human," interrupted a voice. A green-haired boy appeared, along with a girl in pink and a guy with light grey hair. The green haired boy grinned, a little too big for comfort. "But that's beside the point; hand over all of your scrolls."

The boy with the light grey hair changed his gaze over to one of the uninjured ones. "He's got a scroll."

"Wha... how'd you know?" demanded the scroll-carrying nin.

"I can spread my chakra out to sense things... but also this." He moved one of his hands and a blue rope of chakra shot out, catching the three Rain nin around the necks and pulling them in tight. They struggled against it, but they couldn't get it off. It was like their fingers slipped right through it.

The girl in pink skipped over and took the scroll out of their pocket and looked at it. "Goody! A scroll for someone from the Grass!" She blew a mock kiss at the three trapped Rain nin. "Thanks, cutie-pies!"

"We don't want you in the next exam, so I hope you don't mind." The green haired boy uncrossed his arms and performed a quick set of hand seals. "_Doton; Retsudo tensho_!"

The chakra rope around the three nin let go. There was no time to run as the earth rose up and swallowed them, encasing them under the ground.

The girl gave an irritated sigh. "Are you sure that wasn't going over the top a little, Tansei?"

"If it hadn't been us who did it, someone else would have eventually," replied the grey-haired boy for him.

"Yeah, exactly, Jieichou," Tansei nodded and glanced over at the girl. "Who's the scroll for, Yume? You said the Grass, right?"

"Yeap!" giggled Yume, holding up the scroll. "It says for the Grass- 'Genno Araiki'."

"Alright, let's hang onto it then." Tansei refolded his arms.

"Tansei, Yume, we should set up camp for the night," Jieichou advised. "And, I know we don't like them, but I think that a good strategy would be to meet up with Team Omega. We saw Kita kill that deer; that would be enough food to feed all of us. And, it's likely that they've already set up a camp since they are already organising food."

Tansei grumbled a curse, but considered it. "If they have a scroll, we could trade information as well."

"And we can go see Sora-kun too," Yume grinned happily. Tansei glared at her.

"Let's just go already then." Tansei set off back to the field they had seen Kita at before.

* * *

"Whaaa? Kita! How'd you get that!" Yanagi exclaimed; her eyes wide as she stared at the deer.

Kita shrugged the deer off of her shoulders onto the ground. "Easy really..."

"I've prepared a pit where we can cook it in." said Sora, emerging from the hideout.

Kita's ears pricked up and she turned around. "Alright, who's there?" she demanded.

Team Delta walked out from the shrubbery, Tansei in the lead.

Kita glared at him. "What do you want?"

"Dinner and a place to sleep," the green-haired boy replied curtly.

"We'd be willing to trade some information with you," offered Jieichou, holding up their scroll.

Team Omega eyed it and glimpsed across at each other.

_What do you think?_ asked Sora.

_I dunno, but the information could be good..._ said Yanagi.

Kita thought about it, then nodded reluctantly. "Okay then."

"Yay!" cheered Yume, racing over to Sora and clinging onto his arm. Sora blushed.

Yanagi growled irritably at the pink-themed girl.

Tansei and Jieichou walked over. Kita hoped she made the right decision...

* * *

**Later that night, inside the Team Omega Hideout...**

Kita undid the scroll and rolled it out. "Haruno Sakura," she read, "Konoha; Medical ninja, currently a student of Tsunade... the Godaime Hokage..." She trailed off.

"Whoa, you don't mean _the_ Tsunade? The same Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin...?" Sora looked at the scroll, his eyes wide.

"She's the one with the insane strength, right?" asked Yume, who sat close to Sora (with Yanagi close by on the other side looking peeved). "I heard stories about her from my relatives who were in the Third War. They said she was an amazing fighter who could take out a person with just one punch. And she also had amazing medical techniques too."

"This is a valuable scroll then," said Jieichou. "Just from that, we can figure that this 'Sakura' will have strengths in medical jutsu and taijutsu. She must be extremely talented if the Hokage chose her as her student."

Kita nodded. "How about your scroll then?"

Tansei looked bored as he tossed it to them. His arms were crossed in hostility for the most part.

Jieichou rolled out the next scroll. "Genno Araiki..." He looked it over and his brow twitched. "Strange..."

"What is it, Jieichou?" asked Yume curiously.

The grey-haired boy held up the scroll closer to the dwindling lights of the coals to make sure he wasn't missing anything. He gave a 'huh...' sound. "It says he's from the Grass, Team G2, but... but that's about it." He pointed to the pentagon in the middle of the scroll which had the statistics of taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, tool, and blood on it. There was nothing in it, only the outlines.

"He's from the Grass, right? I think that something's up." Sora scowled at the scroll. "Either there aren't any proper readings on this guy, or the Grass is trying to hide something about him."

"I pick option number two," said Kita, the same look on her face. "Since they're running it, they'd be able to have easy access to their own data. I bet they've done this to all scrolls from the Grass."

"Perhaps," replied Sora. "Or maybe just this one..."

"Damn it," muttered Tansei, finally saying something. "We got a worthless scroll."

Jieichou rolled it back up. "Not necessarily; it is actually a lot more useful now."

"How's that work out?" asked Yanagi, also finally saying something after having been glaring at Yume for most of the night.

"Well, since it's of no 'use' in a sense, we could sacrifice it more easily, just in case a team stronger than us demands it," he explained. "We could perhaps trade it... though it could make the receiving team seek revenge after seeing what's on it... But, we could use it as a trap. And remember, it also goes towards our goal of having two scrolls each."

"Aw man, this exam is heaps harder than I thought it'd be!" moaned Yume, pouting. "So many things we have to do for just a couple pieces of paper."

"Information is a key importance in the world," Sora said. "One of the reasons my clan is held in such high respects is because we are able to obtain information others can't. If you know something an enemy doesn't, it could end up being what saves you. People say life isn't like chess, but in a way it is. If you can think ahead and make a strategy, then you'll have the upper hand."

"So from now on, we have to think strategically." Kita looked at her fellow Iwa genin. "We don't all like each other; I know... especially you and me Tansei," The green haired boy glimpsed across at her. "But, you have to admit, we would be much stronger if we knew we could depend upon each other. That's one of the things I recognised about the Konoha teams. When we stole from one of them, another team was nearby to try and stop us. And they seemed to know about the pros and cons of the other team, like how they knew those two girls were prone to getting into arguments." She took a breath and looked across at Sora. "Sora, I hope you can agree with me on this, but... I think you should mind-link Team Delta to us as well."

"Wha?" blinked Sora, caught off guard by her request. Everyone else looked put off too.

"Not directly," Kita replied quickly. "Just, like an emergency line. If they get into trouble, they can open the link and tell us what's happening. And vice versa. It'd be like the wireless radio systems the jounin use for important missions."

"But Kita..." Sora clenched his hands. "With my level, that'd take a lot of chakra to do for so many people at once."

Kita looked disappointed for a second and looked at the dwindling fire. Her eyes widened as an idea developed. "Sora, could you... possibly use my chakra?"

All eyes turned to her.

Sora's eyes were wide as well. "But, you said you used up a bit from that spirit clone you did before. I'm not sure you'd have enough. And on top of that, our chakra would be incompatible since you're not entirely human."

"Oh... yeah..." Kita once again looked disappointed. "So much for that idea then..."

Tansei moved around uncomfortably for a moment before speaking. "You can use mine."

Kita felt a wave of surprise wash over her. Had Tansei really just... volunteered?

Tansei glared at them. "What?" he demanded irritably. "If this stupid idea really works, then it would be helpful. I don't want to die in this damn place anymore than any of you do. And anyway, I probably am the only one who can spare any chakra. You all look like deadbeats."

"Uh... alright then." Sora scratched his neck. He started to mind-link them all.

_Well, Kit..._ mused Nibi quietly to Kita as Sora worked. _To think that the green-haired brat would go along with it... Perhaps this is the first sign of reconciliation? _

_I still don't trust him... but in times of survival, you need to do what's necessary, _Kita replied.

_And we know how important that is, don't we? Still, I reckon you should have just torn his heart out the second you saw him again. _The Nekomata laughed and faded back into the depths of her mind.

_Maybe one day I can forgive him... but it won't be any time soon._..

"Done," announced Sora.

* * *

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **...You can probably tell by now that I don't like Rain nin... Oh, and aren't you happy to see some more jutsu appearing lately? I've been working hard. Oh, and Kita's bloodline will be appearing soon, I promise!

**Jutsu used:**

**Doton; Iwa Honkyo no Jutsu **_(Earth release; Stone Stronghold)_(Ninjutsu) (Earth Element) (D rank) Creates a kind of igloo out of stones. Can also be used as a trap to catch enemy ninja in and can be dismantled with the _Doton; Iwa Yado Kuzushi _jutsu.

**Seishou Bunshin no Jutsu **_(Spirit Clone)_(Nekomata ability) (No rank) After summoning a soul from 'limbo', chakra is infused into it to create a kind of shadow clone. However, the key difference between a Seishou Bunshin and a Kage Bunshin is that the spirit clone is unable to talk, and also the clone is limited in its ways to attack. It cannot attack physically, but it can attack the chakra systems, like the Hyuuga's 'Gentle Fist' style.

**About the Names: **

I suddenly realised I forgot to add in one of the names from last chapter. I may as well put all of their names too, even though just one of them was mentioned. They're the clone girls from before that annoyed Kita. I think I said it before, but they're Jouryoku's daughters.

**Grass- **

**The Grass Sisters-**

Ouritsu Masakari- The oldest of the three, her name means 'Full Bloom Royal'.

Ouritsu Hanbiraki- The middle oldest, her name means 'Half Bloom Royal'.

Ouritsu Tsubomi- That youngest of them all, her name means 'Flower Bud Royal'.

**See you next year, hehe X3**


	20. When They Met

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Thanks for informing me about the messed up chapters. I dunno what happened there, but hopefully that's all fixed now after rearranging them back to normal... Oh, and yay! 20 chapters, 88 reviews, 4785 hits, 23 favs, and 3 C2s! Hehe, wow, that blows my mind... As a celebration next chapter, if you have any questions for certain characters, go ahead and ask them! I'll try and see if they have some time to answer between their busy schedules, hehe.

**Questions: **

**Q- Eleven year olds killing off people so easily? **

**A- **I forgot to say that Tansei didn't kill them... though it is possible that if they didn't get out in time, they'd have suffocated by now... And also, there are probably younger kids out there even worse.

**Q- Yume/Sora/Yanagi love triangle? **

**A-** Hmm, we'll see... though you can tell that Sora doesn't like Yume. It's a good thing he's tolerant. Also, he read her mind and saw just how violent Yume can get if she's mad... eep.

* * *

**_Chapter 20: When They Met _**

**The Chuunin Exam- Part One: The Second Day... **

**Elsewhere in Training Plain 1... **

A girl of around seven daintily picked up a scroll that was hidden in a rock crevice. She blinked her grey-green eyes at it, then flicked some of her cream-coloured hair out of her face. She wore white snow overalls over a blue and pink body suit. Her feet had heavy grey snow boots on. A pair of grey goggles hung around her neck, the symbol of the Hidden Snow engraved on it. She tilted the scroll so she could see the name on it, then opened it curiously.

She started to laugh suddenly.

"What's so funny, Kasukako-chan?" An older boy stepped out from behind the rock, his dark brown eyes curious as well. He wore a white jacket with fur on it over the top of his own blue and purple body suit. Thick white pants, also with fur on them and heavy black boots completed the outfit. A Snow symbol was engraved on his own pair of goggles, which he wore on top of his light-brown haired head.

"It's this person's statistics, Maboroshi-kun... I don't even know why they're entered in the exam! They're even worse than an academy student's!" Kasukako's laughs died away as the scroll was snatched out of her hands by another boy.

"Interesting..." said the new boy in a rough voice, the oldest of them all. He had faded white and blue camouflage pants and shirt on, all of which were over his own bodysuit. His white gloves matched his large white boots. His hair colour was unknown; he wore a thick white beanie over it, and also a long white scarf. Like his other team mates, he had a pair of goggles with the Snow symbol on it that covered his cold cobalt eyes, which skimmed over the large pentagon in the middle displaying the statistics of taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, tool, and blood. "The statistics must be not properly updated... but they'd still be pathetic probably." He closed the scroll.

"Who's scroll does it belong to, Hyouden-san?" asked the young girl.

Hyouden gave her a short frown, then looked at the shell of the scroll. "From the Stone- 'Mitsukai Kita'." He smirked. "No doubt her team will turn up here at some stage, searching for their scrolls. That is, if they're smart enough to realise what the examiners did."

Maboroshi held up three scrolls and grinned. "Yeah, we got ours!"

Hyouden nodded at him. "Yes... So, should we see if this data is for real then when this 'Mitsukai Kita' arrives?"

His team mates grinned and nodded.

* * *

**Iwa Teams- Morning...**

"_Doton; Iwa Yado Kuzushi_!" The rock hideout fell apart as Yanagi slammed her hand on the ground.

The birds in the trees flew away at the disturbance, their feathers floating down through the rays of sun that slipped through the leaves. Yanagi looked around as he noticed someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Kita?" she asked. She started to panic. "She wasn't in the hideout was she?"

"No, I'm up here," said a voice above them. Kita was sitting on the trunk of the tree, her feet stuck to the side with chakra to keep her on. She gave a wide yawn.

"Kita... you didn't spend the entire night up there like that, did you?" asked Sora.

The cat-eared girl nodded and leapt down. "Well, someone had to keep watch."

"Thanks for the food," said Jieichou, fixing his ninja pouch on properly. "We'd best be going now."

"Okay," replied Kita, nodding at them. "We'll see you some time later."

"Aww, sorry Sora-kun, but I have to leave!" Yume pouted sadly at Sora. "But I will see you again, so I have nothing to worry about." She smiled brightly, then ran off to catch up with her team as they disappeared into the forest.

Yanagi shook a fist at her back. "I swear; she is the most annoying person I've ever met!"

"Well, she's gone now, so let's get going. We only have three more days after this." Kita took the lead and led them in a different direction from Team Delta.

* * *

**Somewhere in the forest...**

"I can't believe this!" a boy with red triangle markings yelled. The hip-high white dog by his side tilted his head up at his master as he ranted. "First, you let a couple of brats steal your scroll, and then you guys fail to catch them! How the hell did you let that happen?"

Sakura and Ino glared at each other. "It was her fault!" they said together. The three Konoha teams were assembled to give each other progress reports.

"Uh," a girl with light purple eyes and short, dark blue hair said quietly. "I still don't understand why Neji-nii-san wasn't able to see through it with the Byakugan."

"You said the one with the cat-ears used some kind of bunshin jutsu?" interjected the boy beside her with sunglasses on. Though his gaze was unknown, it was obvious he was looking towards Neji, Tenten and Lee.

"Yes," nodded Neji towards Shino. "It was unlike any I've seen before, or heard of either. It seemed more like a Kage Bunshin, since the kunai Tenten threw actually hit it like it was a real person. But then, it faded away. Its whole chakra system seemed to disintegrate as well."

"If Shikamaru was here, he'd be able to work out what it was," grumbled Chouji between munches.

"Well, he's not here, so we'll have to work it out for ourselves!" growled the boy with red markings.

"Kiba, shut up!" Sakura snapped back irritably. "I bet everyone in the forest knows where we are by now thanks to you."

Kiba grumbled and quietened down. Akamaru whined quietly.

The quiet girl with dark hair spoke up again. "Neji-nii-san, you also said that she escaped by using a henge?"

"It sure didn't seem like a henge!" exclaimed Tenten. "That panther really seemed like a real one."

"I'm not sure it was a henge either, Hinata-sama." Neji stared at the ground, his brows furrowed. "Like Tenten said; it seemed too real."

"I feared that the panther would strike both my youthful springtime friends down and that I would be left all alone!" Lee cried waterfalls. He held a fist up triumphantly. "But, our Fires of Youth have persisted! Yosh!"

Everyone stared at Lee with a pathetic look on their face. They chose to ignore him.

"Anyway, I want my scroll back!" shouted Sakura.

"And you tell me I'm too loud..." mumbled Kiba.

"What did you say?" screamed Sakura.

"Uh, nothing!" Kiba waved his arms. Sakura could get scary...

Neji stood up, sick of the petty squabbling. It was time to leave. "If you see that girl and her team again, make sure you get that scroll back then. We'll meet back here tomorrow."

* * *

**Team Omega... **

_We're closing in on it, _Kita announced psychically to Yanagi and Sora.

She pushed aside some bushes and the three entered out onto a rocky shoreline. Now that they were here, they could see it was some kind of lake, though it seemed like a small sea. Kita looked it up and down; it didn't seem to end. Out in the middle of it, there was a small island.

"What's that?" asked Yanagi suddenly, forgetting speak psychically. She pointed out towards the island where there was a collection of rocks sticking out of the water. There seemed to be a small figure of some kind. A glint of light came from it.

Before Kita or Sora had time to respond, the figure bent down, making it obvious that it was a human. As whoever it was did, the water in the lake became violent. A surge of water rolled up the shore and covered Team Omega's feet.

"A jutsu?" Kita tilted her head. "But what was the point if they're so far away? Only our feet got soaked..." Her voice trailed off as a wave formed out on the lake, growing larger and larger. Suddenly... it started to move towards them.

"It's going to squash us!" screamed Yanagi, grabbing onto Sora's arm.

"There-there's no way we can run away in time!" Sora gasped.

_He's right! _Kita thought to herself frantically, her eyes wide. _We'll drown if it doesn't squash us first! We could only survive if... _Kita bit on her bottom lip as she thought. _But... I might not be able to do it... I... I could end up only killing myself... No, I have to try and use it... my bloodline. _

Kita's chakra flared up around her and she prayed silently. The wave drew closer. Flecks of golden light sparked up around her. The wave was closing in. Kita's ears started to melt away slightly. The wave was nearly on them.

_I've got to! _Kita yelled in her mind.

The golden light burst into greater being. Shallow cuts began to appear over Kita's body as the light touched her. The girl gritted her teeth from sharp pain.

Suddenly, everything went dark as something like a blanket spread over them, forming a dome. The light around Kita cut off abruptly as she looked up with eyes wide. There was a loud thump on the dome as she heard the wave crash onto it.

"You shouldn't try that here, Kita," muttered a voice beside her. Kita looked across. Even though it was dark, her ears picked out the voice as belonging to Gaara. The red-haired youth stood next to her with crossed arms.

"Kita?" asked Yanagi in the darkness, frightened. "Who's there?"

"Don't worry," said another voice, a girl's. "Gaara's put up his sand; that wave jutsu can't get us in here."

There was silence as they waited for the sound of the water to fade. Sunlight trickled in as the sand retreated back to where it came from. Kita turned to look behind her; Temari and Kankuro were standing alongside Sora and Yanagi. The two of them looked nervously at the newcomers.

"They're friends," Kita said reassuringly to her team mates.

"So you're the Sand Siblings then?" asked Sora, his gaze moving to each of them. They nodded. "Alright then... Thanks for helping us out."

Kita gave a weak smile at Sora for being so understanding. Suddenly, with the adrenaline in her system gone, she fell to her knees, fully aware of the blood that started to drip out from her newly acquired injuries. Sora and Yanagi gasped and held her to keep her steady.

"Let's get her away from here so she can recover," said Sora. He frowned, his thoughts thinking back to the flashing moments before the wave hit. That light... and... had Kita's ears changed for a moment back there?

Kita cast a quick glimpse over at Gaara, noticing a look of concern on his face, before she faded into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Flashback- six months ago...**

It had been nearly half a year since Kita had left Iwagakure. After leaving the message on the sword, she had gone south towards the ocean and into the Wind Country. During that time she had learned to control her chakra; however, she was still unable to change into a human like Nibi had told her she would be able to do. It exasperated her that she was yet unable to do it. And with her feline chakra she wasn't able to use proper human jutsu. The Nekomata had said that her chakra would change into human chakra when she was able to do it properly, and hence she'd be able to do everything she was able to normally as a human.

Kita shook her head of her thoughts kept her eyes on the deer. She could only see the top of its head from where she was crouching in the grass, downwind of it. It was nibbling at some grass around a tree. Kita's eyes narrowed- she hated doing this, but after trying to live off nothing but vegetation she had found her body only rejected it and made her sick after a while. Not to mention, she had had a close call when trying to steal some tomatoes from a farmer who had once been a ninja.

The deer looked up briefly, then satisfied it was safe, it went back to grazing. Kita silently crept forward through the grass, keeping her eyes pinned on the deer's position. She came to the end of the long grass. This was it. Kita put chakra into her back legs to spring-load them. 3... 2... 1... Kita leapt out of the grass towards the deer. The deer looked up, its ears straight up. Kita flew at it. There was nowhere for the deer to go.

Suddenly, she was caught in mid-air, her claws only inches away from the deer's back. The deer bolted once it realised the predator was unable to harm it. Kita flailed her paws at it, but it was already too far away. She looked behind her to see why she was stuck in mid-air. There was something around her stomach, holding her up. It looked like sand.

"I was enjoying the quiet until you decided to do that," said a cold voice. Kita whipped her head around. On a log nearby there sat a boy a little older than her. He had rusty-red hair and frosty green eyes. On his forehead there was the kanji for 'love', and on his back a large gourd, from which the sand flowed. He stood up and walked over, staring at her. The sand poured over her paws, keeping them down. The boy lifted up her hitai-ate which was around her neck. "A summon from the Earth Country... I thought they didn't use cats."

"They don't," said Kita, her tail lashing wildly as the sand constricted her.

The boy's eyes twitched slightly. "I see, so you talk after all... If you're not a summoning from the Stone, then what are you? Did you kill one of their ninja and take this?"

Kita growled. "I earned this, fair and square from the ninja academy there. I'm a genin of Iwagakure."

The boy's lips formed into a mock of a smile. "A genin... but you're a cat."

"No I'm not!" retorted Kita. "I am... was... a human..." Her voice faded off into a whisper.

After a minute of silence the boy dropped his grip on the hitai-ate. His eyes seemed less cold. "I bet the people of your village feared you for it..."

Kita nodded slowly. "Yes..." she replied, wondering how he understood.

"This..." he said suddenly, eyes narrowing, "I want to know more about. I'll release you, but if you try to attack me or escape, I will bring you back."

"Alright..." agreed Kita, a little shakily. The lack of eyebrows made her nervous somehow.

The sand withdrew back into the gourd and Kita dropped to the ground. The Sand genin went and sat back on the log and waited for Kita to join him.

"So," Kita said. She felt anxious. "What is it you'd like to know?"

"I want to know why you are like that," he replied.

Kita gazed down at the ground. "I don't think anyone's really cared how I got this way... All they cared about was wether or not I was a risk to them." Kita put a paw over her heart. "I was turned into a cat by the Shinigami, because then I would be supposedly safe from some kind of danger that will one day show itself to me..."

"My village... is the same. They fear me because I'm a monster." The boy clenched his hands, painful memories in his mind.

Kita gave a shaky smile. "There's no way you could be considered as much a monster as me."

He shook his head. "You would not understand the pain of having a monster living within you."

"Try me," challenged Kita.

The boy gazed at the ground. "Inside me there is an ancient creature called Shukaku, also known as the Ichibi- it because of him that I am feared," the red-haired boy explained quietly.

"Shu-Shukaku... Ichibi...? Wait... but..." Kita's eyes widened as she realised. "We are the same... The monster inside me is called the Nibi..."

The boy with the kanji for love on his forehead stared at the cat with green eyes. It was in that split moment that he felt that rare feeling that someone understood the pain he did. Not since Uzumaki Naruto had he felt the same feeling. "What is your name?" he asked- green eyes still on her.

"Mitsukai Kita," she replied with a small smile on her face. "And you?"

"Sabaku no Gaara," whispered the boy.

* * *

**A/N: **Hehe, and that's how Gaara and Kita met! More flashbacks later on, I promise, and also a little explanation on what Kita's bloodline is (at last, some answers).

**Jutsu used:**

**Doton; Iwa Yado Kuzushi no Jutsu **_(Earth release; Rock Lodging Destruction)_(Ninjutsu) (Earth Element) (D-B rank) In the hands of a jounin, this jutsu can be used to great effect to crush opponents by dislodging large amounts of rocks. For lower grades, it won't do the same wide-scale damage; but it is still pretty good. This jutsu requires that there already be rocks above the opponent.

**About the Names: **

**Snow- **

**Team Avalanche-**

Hyouden- His name means Field of Eternal Snow.

Hatsuyukiwo Kasukako- Long name for a such a young kid, but it means First Snow for the Hazy Child.

Touzoku Maboroshi- Means Phantom Thief... my friend came up with that, hehe.

**Next chapter, coming soon I hope! Leave a review:D **


	21. Cat and Dog

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Does anybody even read this part? Because if you don't, then you can miss out on some important stuff vital for the plot. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews for the 20th chapter; they were very encouraging! Now for some questions- it seems I'm not always very clear...

**Questions:**

**Q- Where's Naruto and Sasuke?**

**A- **Lots of people asked this one... This is after Naruto and Sasuke's fight, so Naruto is off with ero-sennin Jiraiya, and Sasuke is being a jerk at Orochimaru's village. Yeah, yeah... if you haven't worked out I don't like Sasuke already, now you know. Heh, I give him a bad rapt in my other fic up...

**Q- Longer chapters?**

**A-** At the moment I've got a set word limit of 3000 words for the main body of the chapter. Sometimes it'll vary, depending on what's happening at that time because I've written the story as one big one, and then I just cut and paste into a template for the fic. But anyway, I guess I'll try and do longer chapters with all the heightening action coming.

**Questions for the characters! **

**Q- Sora, what did you see in Yume's mind that scared you so much?**

**Sora- -**shudder- Pink... so much pink... And she was imaging how I'd look in it! Nooo!

**Q- Yanagi, when are you going to stop kidding yourself and admit you like Sora?**

**Yanagi-** Whaaat! What kind of question is that? Me like that childish, blue-haired, mind-reading, little dork! Well... I mean, he's okay for a dork, but still!

**Q- Team Omega and Delta, who do you wish to fight later in the exam?**

**Kita- **Hmm, I'm not all that sure... anyone is good, I suppose, as long as they're a good opponent.

**Yanagi- **Yume! I want to kick her butt! And it's not because I like Sora! It's... uh, because her fashion sense is atrocious!

**Sora-** I'm happy with anyone, but I would like to fight Tansei...

**Tansei-** Those guys from the Hidden Cloud looked like interesting opponents. I want to see what skills they have,

**Yume-** Oh, I'd like to fight one of those three girls with the pretty rose sashes! I want to ask them how they got those roses to be such a lovely pink colour!

**Jieichou-** Nobody really interests me much... I'll just fight whoever fate gives me. I won't lose though.

**Thank you for those questions! If anyone has anymore, please ask away! But for now, onto the story!**

* * *

**_Chapter 21: Cat and Dog_**

**Later...**

Kita opened her purple eyes slowly. As usual, whenever she either fell asleep or unconscious, she was back in her normal form. She sat up on her haunches and shook her head. There were several bandages on her body, a little blood soaking through them. She looked around, noticing the Sand Siblings had left.

"Kankuro-san and Temari-san said you'd be out for a while," commented Sora from beside her.

"Where'd they go off to?" asked Kita hazily, transforming back into her human self.

"Dunno, they just took off..." Yanagi grumbled.

Kita sighed.

There was a short silence before Sora spoke up. His voice was cold.

"You lied to us, Kita."

Kita flinched and looked up at the blue haired boy. His dark orange eyes were serious. Kita looked back at the ground.

"You said you couldn't get rid of those cat ears. But I saw what happened just before. I think it is only right you tell us what's going on. That light... That was your advanced bloodline, wasn't it?" He stared down at her, his arms crossed.

Kita's ears drooped. "Yes... it was, and yes, I'm able to become fully human... but, there are consequences."

"Uh, question..." interrupted Yanagi, looking a little steamed and confused at the same time. "Nobody has ever exactly told me what the Mitsukai bloodline is."

Sora answered for Kita. "It's called a 'Mastery of Light', the ability to take light and solidify it to the user's will. It's one of Iwagakure's most revered bloodlines, but the ability has weaknesses."

"I'm pretty much hopeless without a strong light source," Kita whispered. "And, I lose my Nekomusume abilities whenever I turn human. I keep the ears because they allow me to use my Nekomusume power, but also, they're the only thing that's stopping my own bloodline from killing me. I'm even lucky that I'm alive at the moment..."

* * *

**Flashback- around four months ago...**

"Again, are you sure about this, Kita?" Temari shifted her fan so it sat more comfortably.

The feline before the teenager nodded her head. "Yes, there'd be no point returning to my village otherwise."

"Alright, I suppose." She put her hands on her hips and looked the cat over. It had been around two months ago that she had met this strange creature that claimed to be a human.

Her little brother Gaara had come home one day saying he had brought a cat with him. At first she had thought Gaara had taken up a hobby of bringing in stray animals... that was until she saw the panther-sized feline. And then the animal started to speak! She had barely kept herself from blowing it out the door with her fan in her shock.

After a few minutes of explanation from her brother, she finally understood; the cat was actually a lot like Gaara, having the bijuu known as the Nibi inside her. When the explanations were done, Gaara had made them promise not to breathe a word of it to anyone, under threat of death. Temari had actually been surprised by her little brother with that one. He had changed a lot since meeting that Uzumaki Naruto boy, and normally the new threat was being buried in the desert up to their necks for a week. But threatening them with death... there was obviously something special to Gaara about that cat-girl if it warranted that old threat.

The two months before this had definitely been a lot more stranger since that kitty had turned up. Somehow, Kita had become like a little sister to her and Kankuro. And Gaara... She had noticed a definite change in him as well; he didn't seem so lonely anymore. Kita accompanied him a lot during the night, staying close to his side. The two didn't talk very much, but it was obvious to Temari that something was up between them.

Temari wiped the sweat from her brow. The four of them were out in the desert, under the heat of the merciless sun. They had picked this spot because it was just far enough to be out of the reach of any patrols from Sunagakure. The last thing they needed was Kita being discovered and then all of them having to go in for interrogation.

She glanced beside her to her siblings, wondering what was on their minds. Kankuro looked like he was boiling in his black outfit; his purple face paint was starting to a flake a little. As for Gaara... he was lucky, using his sand as a kind of umbrella. His eyes were a little different today though. He kept his eyes on Kita for the most part, a concerned glint in them. His gaze turned upwards to Temari, having noticed her watch on his. After a moment, his eyes slid away, to look towards the horizon instead.

"Are you sure nothing's going to happen, Kita-chan?" Kankuro shifted uncomfortably before taking a sip of water from a canteen at his side.

Kita gave an audible sigh. "Yes, I'm pretty sure..." she waited a moment before she spoke again. "Okay, I'm ready to try."

Temari stepped back, along with Kankuro. Gaara held his place, his eyes wandering back to Kita.

A burst of chakra around the feline signalled the start. Temari watched as Kita's fur seemed to ripple and melt before them. It was almost like someone had undone a hidden zipper on the back of the cat and a human was emerging out of it. The girl before them had long silvery hair with a purple sheen to it and fair skin. Temari gave an inner sigh of relief as she noticed Kita had clothes on. She had been worried about her 'little sister' before with the issue of clothes. Temari took note that the clothes would need replacing though; Kita's shirt had a large hole in the front, and also the back...

The last traces of Kita's feline self disappeared; her ears became small, neat human ones.

Kita laughed joyfully, staring down at her hands as she wiggled her fingers. "It worked!"

Temari smiled- so here was the true form of that cat that her brother had brought home all those two months ago...

Suddenly, there was a flash of golden light beside Kita. The girl stopped laughing and put her hand to her face. When she took her hand away from her cheek, there was blood on it.

"What was that?" asked Temari, walking over.

There was another flash of gold light. Kita gave a yelp as a cut appeared along her arm. The girl's eyes were wide. Her head snapped towards the approaching Temari. "Don't come any closer!" Her voice sounded fearful. Another flash of light, and another cut appeared on her jaw.

Temari stopped, her own eyes growing wide as more flashes of light appeared. They came faster and faster around Kita, almost covering her from sight.

That's when the screams began...

Blood splattered out from in-between the gaps of light. Kita's cries of pain and terror were horrible from inside the ever-moving walls of light. The air seemed to become dark around them, like the walls were sucking the very light out of the sky.

"Kita!" yelled Temari, not sure what to do.

"Stay back!" shouted Kankuro, taking out a summoning scroll. A hand made out of sand slapped it away. Kankuro looked up, angered. "Gaara! Why'd you do that!"

"Your puppets won't help here," replied Gaara, keeping calm. He had already started his work; both of his hands were on the ground, commanding the sand inside the golden walls to rise up and cover Kita to protect her...

It worked- the screams ended. The sky instantly became lighter as the golden wall scattered into nothingness, leaving a formless statue in the middle. Gaara's calmness was broken as he slowly approached the statue. His hand shook slightly as he pushed the sand away from Kita's face.

Temari gave a stifled gasp. The _thing_ Gaara had just uncovered didn't at all look human. It was more like a bloody pulp. Kita's hair was completely stained red with blood. Somehow, Kita's ears had reverted back into cat ears.

Kita gasped for air, though from her breaths, it sounded like there was blood in her lungs with the gurgling that came from them. The girl's mouth tried to speak, but only a murmur came from it. "Thank you..." she mouthed. Her misty purple eyes were blank as they stared ahead... Her head collapsed forward, thick globs of blood and saliva dripping from her mouth onto Gaara's sand.

_Stage 2- success..._ A faint chuckle hissed in the back of Kita's mind.

Gaara's hand fell limp by his side, the smell of blood filled his nostrils. In his chest, he felt as though his heart was being squeezed as he looked at the girl wrapped in his sand. As he watched, she slowly turned back into the true creature she was, though she looked none the better. He gave a desperate look at his siblings. "We need to get her back to Sunagakure."

* * *

**Back in real time...**

"If I use my 'Mastery of Light', I'll only end up killing myself, and maybe even you guys as well." Kita clutched at the bottom of her shirt. "I don't want that to happen..."

"But... when did this happen? When did you activate it?" asked Yanagi.

"I don't know. I can only think that it was between the split seconds when I came back to life and was turned into a cat." The cat-eared girl responded. She looked up at Sora. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you."

Sora gave her a troubled look, then a nod. "It's okay... Anyway, now isn't the time. We've got to find a way across that lake."

Yanagi flipped back her hair. "It'll be tough since we don't know much about water jutsu. We're just gonna have to run for it."

"Mist nin are known for their sword skills," said Kita, standing up. "We only saw one as well, which troubles me."

"The other two must be back up," Sora tapped his finger to his chin. "That wave jutsu would have taken a bit of chakra to perform, so doubtless the other two are hiding in wait to jump out when a team makes it past their first line of defence while the wave person is resting."

In the distance, the trio heard a large watery crash and a rumble. Kita's ears picked up the sounds of yelling. They turned their necks towards the sound.

"Another wave?" asked Yanagi.

"Let's go, this could be our chance." Kita waved an urgent hand at them and started running.

* * *

**A few minutes earlier with Team G2...**

Shuuki gave a low whistle as Team G2 emerged out of the forest onto the shore. "Big lake- looks like we're walking then." He ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair and started forward.

"Wait a sec, Shuuki." Rindou pulled him back by his shirt collar then put her hands on her hips. She looked worried. "Something's not right. It's dangerous to go out into such an open area."

"Strange..." Araiki inspected a tree trunk. It was completely wet, as were all the other trees around it. He sniffed at the air as well. "I smell cat for some reason."

"Smell cat?" repeated Rindou, walking over to him and pulling Shuuki as well. "I didn't see any cat-users when the groups were assembled. I saw a dog-user, but that's it."

Shuuki pulled himself away from Rindou's grip and rubbed the back of his neck. "I think I might know. When we were walking to the gates the Grass Sisters jumped this girl who had cat ears."

"They'd jump on anything that sported a cute accessory," grumbled Rindou.

"It wasn't a headpiece, they were real!" The blonde haired boy frowned.

Araiki looked thoughtful as he gazed around. _Cat ears... Yeah, I saw her too. I don't know why, but I wish I could meet her and find out about that._ There was an amused snickering in the back of his mind. Araiki's brow twitched. _What is it?_ he asked.

_Nothing... But a cat- how very interesting. I thought you'd hate them as much as me. Heh heh... anyway, nice lake... Wish I could destroy it and take its power._

_Whatever... Houkou..._

_Eh, don't talk to me like that brat. You're lucky I even let you live!_

"Araiki!"

The brown-haired boy turned around to Rindou. She was looking out to the lake, where a large wave was roaring towards them.

"Araiki, do something!" Shuuki yelled.

"_Doton; Doroku Gaeshi!_" Araiki pushed into the ground and a large square of rock was pulled up over the team.

The wave crashed down onto the stone barrier while the team sheltered underneath. Water flowed over the top and spilled over, now harmless.

Shuuki and Rindou gave a sigh of relief. "That was a close one," they said together, before opening their eyes and seeing they were clutching onto each other.

"Get off, pervert!" Rindou pushed the blonde boy off of her chest and into the rocky slab as it started to disappear back into the ground.

"Ow... But I didn't mean-" Shuuki rubbed his head.

"Yeah, right!" Rindou exclaimed angrily.

Araiki took a breath, relieved. He froze up as his nose picked up the faint scent of cat once more. Three intruders... From their smell, he could tell they had stopped. Araiki took out a kunai and turned towards the forest. "Come on out, are you behind that wave jutsu that just happened?"

Shuuki and Rindou stopped arguing and turned and pulled out kunai as well.

There was no response for a moment. Araiki growled and aimed his kunai at where he smelt the intruders. He threw it into the bushes.

"Ouch, you elbowed me in the face, Kita! Wha? Hey, that nearly got me!" exclaimed an irritated female's voice.

The bushes rustled again, this time a girl with silver hair came out, the kunai Araiki had thrown hanging off her fingers. Her cat-ears twitched slightly as she saw Araiki. The two of them stared at each other with wide eyes for a second before pointing at each other.

"It's you!"

A blue haired boy and a black haired girl rubbing her cheek popped out of the bushes as well with confused looks on their faces. Shuuki and Rindou glanced at them before looking back at their team mate and the cat-eared girl. However, they had the same confused expression as the other two.

Rindou tapped Araiki on the shoulder. "Uh, do you know this girl?"

"No," the boy with the collar shook his head. "But she was here earlier. Weren't you?"

The girl frowned lightly. Her eyes flickered to beside Araiki's head and the hand with his kunai in it twitched. Araiki tensed up.

"You better get down now," said the girl, throwing the kunai so that it flew right beside his face.

Araiki moved just in time. He heard it whiz past his ear. Then he heard a sound of slicing, then a splash behind him. He turned to see a Mist genin with a Da Dao sword land on the water. The dark grey-haired teen gave a growl of annoyance at the group, his jet-black eyes glaring. He wiped some blood off of his cheek.

The water next to him began to bubble and an older girl rose up from below. The creamy-white haired genin put a hand on her hip, and resettled her other hand on the pronged spear she was carrying. Her dark violet eyes flickered from the group of people on the shore across to her team mate. "Why haven't you gotten rid of them yet, Kaiteimaru-_chan_?"

"That cat-eared freak threw a kunai at me before I was able to slash that brown-haired kid's head off, Kaisui-san," grumbled the one called Kaiteimaru. His nose wrinkled at the '-chan' she put on the end of his name.

"That's no reason, you should have been done by now," hissed the older girl.

"But there's a lot of them as well. And they deflected Araumi-san's 'Atsuryokuha'," The younger genin argued back weakly.

"You're pathetic," Kaisui replied, her tone of voice dripped with disgust.

Kaiteimaru's shoulders dropped a little.

Kita looked at them, and recognised them from before when she was picking out the stronger looking teams. This girl certainly had a mean streak. She didn't seem to respect her team mate as well.

The water bubbled again and another Mist genin rose out of the water. He looked just like the girl, with cream-white hair and violet eyes, though a little younger. He held two double-bladed knives in his hands. He looked over Kita and Araiki's teams. "How strange, a Grass team and a Stone team, together on the shore. And what were you guys doing?"

"None of your business, that's for sure!" Rindou shouted at him. "We don't even know those kids!"

"Oh, sure you don't," scoffed the girl, Kaisui. "Then what are you doing here? Trading information, a romantic encounter? I saw you hugging that boy beside you a few minutes ago."

Rindou's jaw dropped open. "You're kidding me! You're deluded! Isn't she right, Shuuki!"

Shuuki could only blush horribly.

Kita walked a few steps so she was just behind Araiki's right shoulder. She started to whisper to him while the Mist team were talking. "You're Araiki, right? I saw your scroll."

"There's not much info on it, and I'm not giving any more of it away," the collared-boy responded quietly with a low growl.

"I don't need your info, not now that I know who you really are," Kita leaned in closer. "Genno Araiki, vessel of the Gobi bijuu, Houkou."

Araiki's eyes widened momentarily. His fist tightened. "How... how do you know that?"

"You and I are the same," Kita whispered, keeping her eyes on the Mist nin's conversation-turned argument with Rindou. "Five tails... two tails... we both have something in common. And I'm here to protect you, and warn you that there's a danger coming for all of us. And we'll need to cooperate if we're to stay alive. Got it?"

* * *

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **Yup, that's right! Araiki is the jinchuuriki of Houkou, the five tailed dog. I'll put a little info about it. I think I did that before... but here's some more detailed stuff. Oh, and who's finally happy to learn what Kita's bloodline is? Phew, took me long enough to put it in! Yay! Next chapter- Team Omega and Team G2 faces off again Team Breakwater!

**Bijuu Factfile:**

Houkou, or the Gobi, is a five tailed beast demon that resembles a dog. It has white fur, and each of its tails contains a specific elemental power- water, fire, earth, air, and lightning. When used all together, they create an earthquake. Houkou will destroy nature for its own gain. Its strength ranking is 3rd and chakra ranking is 5th. Houkou is considered to be the 'God of Illusion', and lives within a giant tree, where it can recover. It once formed an alliance with the Nekomata and attacked the Kyuubi, however, it received a wound from the battle and retreated back to its tree to heal.

**Jutsu used:**

**Doton; Doroku Gaeshi**_ (Earth release; Earth Shore Return)_(Ninjutsu) (Earth Element) (C rank) Used by Jiroubou in the manga. This jutsu creates a large stone slab out of the ground to protect the user against attacks.

**Suiton; Atsuryokuha no jutsu** _(Water Release; Pressure Wave)_ (Ninjutsu) (Water Element) (C rank) A water jutsu that creates a small tsunami that contains chakra to make its impact greater. Created by the Arainami clan from the Mist- a clan that specialises in powerful water jutsus.

**About the Names: **

**Mist- **

**Team Breakwater-**

Kaiteimaru- Kaitei means 'Bottom of the Ocean'. He gets picked on by the others, poor guy.

Arainumi Araumi- Kaisui's younger brother, his name means 'Wild Waves, Rough Sea'.

Arainumi Kaisui- Araumi's older sister, her name means 'Wild Waves, Ocean Water'.

**Lots of action, coming up next! Please leave a review!**


	22. Symbol

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **I guess you could call this chapter a bit special. It's a little longer than usual, and contains some good answers. And maybe some hints of things to come. -wink-

**Questions: **

**Q- Will this story have all the bijuu in it and the Akatsuki in it? **

**A-** Still trying to decide about that, so perhaps. The Akatsuki? -laughs- Hehe.. sorry, I read too many funny comics about them. If you mention Kisame, I imagine a piece of sushi with a sword. They'll probably appear later. They are after the jinchuuriki after all.

**Questions for the characters! **

**Q- Sora, what is the most embarrassing thing you've ever seen in someone's mind? **

**Sora- **Uh... I'd still have to say what I saw in Yume's mind. Nothing's worse than your own personal embarrassment.

**Q- Sora, again- have you ever tried to read Yanagi's mind? **

**Sora-** Of course! I try and read her mind at least two times everyday (when she's off-guard). Though, it's becoming harder and harder for me to since she's getting very good at sensing when I'm using my bloodline on her. :(

**Q- Yume, why do you like Sora so much? **

**Yume-** He's so handsome, and cool! It was love at first sight! -sighs- I wish I could have a romantic dinner for two with him.

**Hehe, good questions. Any more are welcome as well. Onto the story!**

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 22: Symbol _**

The shaggy-haired boy's hands stopped tightening as he let it sink in. "Danger...? Isn't it bad enough here?" His brow slanted into a frown as he though. "But alright... I don't need your protection though, cat-girl."

"My name is Mitsukai Kita," the cat-eared girl pouted, then smirked. "Now, let's get rid of these weirdoes, and then we can talk."

"Fine... I'd like to hear your story." Araiki gave a barely-noticeable nod towards Shuuki and Rindou, who twitched their fingers as a sign of understanding.

_Sora, Yanagi,_ Kita contacted her team mates, breaking them out of their staring at the Mist nin. _We're going to take out those Mist nins with Araiki's team. Don't worry about it; I'll explain it to you later. _

_Alright,_ confirmed Yanagi and Sora.

"Go," Kita breathed. The teams separated- Kita's to the right and Araiki's to the left.

In a split second she was in the air, a new kunai in hand as she fell towards the lead female of the Mist genin. She was looking sideways, away from Kita.

_CLANG!_ Kita's kunai was stopped by a pronged spear. Kaisui turned her face towards her attacker.

"Humph, I'm not _that _dumb you know. You won't catch me off guard." She smirked smugly and pushed at Kita with her spear. Kita dropped her kunai as Kaisui slipped her neck in between the two prongs. Kita tried to hold off the shaft of the spear with both of her hands.

Kita gave a low growl at the violet-eyed girl as she held onto the spear. "I don't like people like you, those who treat their team mates like trash."

"If you mean Kaiteimaru... then I have every right to. He's weak. Just like you!" Kaisui pulled the spear away from Kita's neck and swept Kita's feet from under her with the shaft.

"Kita!" Yanagi flipped into the air, away from Kaiteimaru's swinging sword. She completed her hand seals as she turned. "_Katon; Endan Renda_!" She spat a series of fiery bullets out towards Kaisui.

"Yeah, right..." Kaisui tapped the surface of the lake with her spear. "_Suiton; Funsui__ no jutsu_!"

Jets of water sprouted out from around the Mist nin and sprayed Yanagi and her jutsu. The force hit her back along the lake. Yanagi winced and rubbed her back. "What was that? She didn't use any hand seals..."

Kaisui laughed. "Stupid girl, haven't you ever heard of 'storing' a jutsu? You perform the justu, then store the special chakra to use later. Of course, I doubt you even understood that." She laughed even harder.

"If you have time to laugh, you have time to fight me!" Kita twisted around and knocked the girl's spear out of her hand. Kita caught it and threw it into the forest.

Kaisui gave a sharp yell as she saw her weapon fly away and punched down at Kita. The cat-eared girl rolled out of the way just as the incoming fist hit the water, sending water everywhere.

Kita leapt to her feet, shaking the water from her hair. She took a quick glimpse around; Araiki's team mates were fighting the boy that looked like Kaisui, Araumi. She couldn't see Araiki. Sora was dodging Kaiteimaru's sword, working up his hand seals for a jutsu when suddenly Yanagi leapt in, blocking the boy's blows with her fans. She looked graceful as she deflected the hits and attacked back. Sora finished his paralysis jutsu and the boy froze, allowing Yanagi to pummel him.

"Don't ignore me!" Kaisui yelled and charged at Kita. "I can still beat you even without my Fisherman's Fork!"

"Don't ignore me either then," Araiki appeared out of nowhere and rammed Kaisui with his shoulder, sending her skidding across the water's surface. He jumped over to Kita's side. "You're not that good at taijutsu, are you?" he asked.

"What?" Kita exclaimed. She frowned at him. "I do have a couple of tricks, you know."

Kaisui stood up, looking furious that the two were taking the battle so lightly. "Brother!" she yelled and leapt further out onto the lake. "Let's kill them already!"

"About time, Kaisui!" Araumi yelled and punched Shuuki in the face before running over to his sister.

"Shuuki!" Rindou ran and caught him.

Kita and Araiki watched as the duo performed a series of hand seals in perfect unison. She could feel their chakra dispersing into the air.

"Arainami Clan technique!_ Suiton; Mizubashira no jutsu_!" The two of them looked up to the sky.

"Get ready," Kaisui grinned. Her brother smirked as well. "You're in for a treat- our last defence."

Kita covered her ears as a roaring thunderous sound echoed over the lake. Dark clouds gathered above them, and lightning flashed. Cold, driving rain started to pour down from the heavens, soaking everyone. The level of the lake rose and covered the shoreline. Kaisui and Araumi looked elated at the appearance of their jutsu. A cylinder of water built up around them, made from the both the lake and the rain. Slowly, it began to rotate, gaining more and more speed and growing higher.

"It's a waterspout!" gaped Sora. "We can't fight against something like that in this environment!"

"I don't have jutsu that could block that sort of thing!" Yanagi let go of Kaiteimaru's shirt, leaving the semi-conscious Mist nin to bob up and down in the lake.

Rindou helped Shuuki over to Araiki. She looked at him with worriedly. "Can... you do anything?"

The waterspout grew larger in circumference; Kaisui and Araumi were safe inside, waiting for their first victims to be swallowed up.

Kita gave a side glance at Araiki. "Can you?" she asked.

The boy's body trembled slightly. "I can't... but I do know someone who can. I don't want to..."

"Araiki! You've got to!" pleaded Rindou as the swirling wall of water inched closer, gaining more ground quickly.

"I told you before, I'll protect you," Kita whispered to him.

Araiki looked at Kita. Her fists were clenched tightly. He looked back to the waterspout. It was coming. He could feel the water beneath him trailing away into the watery creation. "I said I didn't need protecting from you..." He closed his eyes. _Houkou... please help us! _

_Heh heh... Okay, brat, but I get to have a little fun as well! _

Araiki's eyes opened. They were completely black, almost like each eyeball was a black hole. The light shine on them was the only way to see that they weren't. There was a feeling of maliciousness radiating from the voids. Araiki laughed deeply with a gravelled voice. "Let's have some fun." He gave a howl and ran forward into the waterspout.

"Get back into the forest!" commanded Kita. The others nodded and ran. As she ran, Kita caught sight of the sibling's team mate, Kaiteimaru, bobbing hopelessly in the water and slowly being dragged towards the spout. Kita gave a growl of disgust and grabbed him. He was heavy, but she managed to heave him up into the branches of a tree by the shoreline.

There was some kind of explosion from within the waterspout. A foaming jet of water burst into the clouded sky, destroying the swirling jutsu. A kind of mist covered the surface of the lake, leaving three figures. Two of them fell with a splash into the water, now leaving one. A howl echoed through the air and the figure began to walk back to shore. A few metres from the forest, he stopped and looked up into Kita's tree. He grinned.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..." He crooked a finger at her and twitched it for her to come down.

Kita looked down into the fully black eyes and leapt down, landing on all fours. She stood up and stared him directly in the eye.

The possessed boy's grin widened, showing sharp canines. "It has been a long time, Nibi."

"You know I'm not the Nekomata, Houkou," Kita replied sourly, the pupils of her eyes turning to slits.

"Heh heh... Of course... Nibi is trapped inside your pitiful body, just as I with this boy. But..." His eyes narrowed. "You are different from this boy... I see through your transformation. You aren't human."

"That's true. I'm a Nekomusume." Kita kept her head held high in the demon's presence. "I want to speak to Araiki now though."

"I was expecting better manners from you, seeing as you are Nibi's apprentice, and we both have quite the history. Beggars can't be choosers, I suppose." He leant in close to Kita's ear, smirking. "My vessel has taken quite a liking to you it seems. He has good taste for someone so pretty and dangerous. Heh heh... I will see you later, _Nekomusume-chan_."

His eyes closed and Araiki opened his. He bent back in surprise when he saw how close he was to Kita's furry ear. He saw that Kita was blushing slightly. "What... what happened?"

"Uh, nothing..." Kita swivelled around on one foot and leapt back up into the tree where Kaiteimaru was. She shook the Mist genin. "Hey, you, wake up."

The boy's eyes opened more. "Ugh... uh, what?" He sat bolt upright when he saw Kita's face. He backed up a little, with a look of fear on his face. "Please, don't hurt me!"

"Idiot," said Rindou, jumping down from her tree along with Shuuki. "She saved you from your stupid team mate's attack."

Kaiteimaru blinked and looked back at Kita. "You... saved me? But why?"

Kita nodded angrily. "People shouldn't abandon their team mates. Why you're with them, I have no idea. But they're snobs."

The grey-haired teen looked down at the branch he sat on. He gave a relieved smile. "Yeah... and you know what? I quit." He lifted his head up to the sky, his smile turning into a grin. "I quit being a shinobi. It's not worth it. I have a cute little girlfriend back home waiting for me. She didn't want me to be a ninja either.' He stood up and turned to the group. "Thank you, for saving me."

Kita gave him a sincere smile back.

Kaiteimaru zipped open his side pouch and grabbed something out of it. He handed them to Kita.

"Uh, what? Scrolls?" Kita blinked at the four scrolls in her hands. "But..."

The boy pushed them further into her hands. "Kaisui and Araumi made me carry them because they said I was their 'pack horse'. But since I'm no longer that, you should have them more than me." He smiled once more then leapt away in the direction of the entrance gate, the direction of home...

"Here," Kita handed two of the scrolls to Araiki, "you should have some too."

"No, no, it's okay." Araiki gave them back. "You did the deed, and he gave them to you. Anyway, you said you wanted to talk to me?"

"I don't get it- what business do you have with Araiki?" asked Rindou, mid-way through applying a bandage to Shuuki's mildly bleeding forehead.

Kita didn't answer her.

"Hey, I asked you what-" Rindou stood up and stormed towards her, but an arm cut her off.

"It's about _that_ kind of business," replied Araiki, putting his hand back down.

Kita finally looked over to her. "So, you both know as well?"

Rindou nodded, still looking grumpy. "Of course we do. We were there when _that_ incident occurred." Her eyes flickered to Araiki.

The boy gingerly touched the collar around his throat. "This is the symbol of which I was... who I'm supposed to be; a creature who only serves his master and obeys every command, who takes punishment when he does wrong... and does not complain back, not matter what."

* * *

**8 years ago in Kusagakure...**

"Ara-chan! Wait up!" A younger Rindou giggled and chased after one of her favourite friends.

"And me too!" yelled a young Shuuki. He tripped over a rock and landed on his face. He sat up and rubbed the bump on his head; his eyes wet with tears. "Guys!"

Rindou stopped beside Shuuki and gave him a large grin. "You're so clumsy, Shuu-chan!" She gave him a quick kiss on his injury, then continued to run.

The blonde boy blushed. Immediately he got up and ran after her.

A five year-old Araiki scrambled up to on top of the slide. He laughed happily and slid down to the bottom. Rindou and Shuuki slid down after, landing on top of him making a pile. The three of them laughed the way that only kids could; free and full of excitement.

"Araiki!" yelled a voice.

The brown-haired boy blinked and looked up from his place under the kiddy-pile. His laughter stopped abruptly and he crawled out. "But Dad, I want to keep playing!"

"Araiki, come!" commanded the stern voice.

The boy reluctantly shuffled over. He gave a cry of pain as he received a slap across the face. He fought back tears.

"You do not address me as 'Dad'. You address me as 'Sir', or 'Master'. Is that clear, Araiki?"

Araiki nodded, sniffing dejectedly. "Yes, sir."

"I let you out to play because you had been well behaved this week. For your insubordination, you will stay three days in _there_."

Araiki's body stiffened. _There..._ _There_ was a shed out the back of the house. However, the shed was a mask for what was inside it- a deep pit where the ground was wet and cold and no light got in except from the small rust holes in the shed's walls above. Araiki shivered in fear. Though he feared his father, he feared that pit the most. It was in that quiet place that he could hear that voice, that voice that whispered horrible things to him. Araiki was scared.

His father's hand grabbed him by the collar, the collar that he had had ever since he could remember. And he could never get it off, no matter how hard he tried. How he wished he could rip it off, throw it into that scary pit, then run away to play with his friends.

"Bye, Ara-chan..." whispered Rindou sadly, watching with Shuuki as he was dragged away.

* * *

**Later... **

Araiki landed onto the cold wet ground of the pit. He looked up and saw his father slowly close the shed door. Slowly the light faded, until he was left in darkness. Araiki sobbed and crawled over to the nearest wall to sit again. How many times had he been in here, all alone with nothing but glimmers of light above him to give him hope... and only that strange voice to keep him company.

A deep chuckle resonated through the shed and his mind.

_Heh heh... hey brat, it looks like you've returned again... _

"No, please! Don't talk to me!" Araiki covered his ears.

_You can't shut me out, kid... I'll always be here right inside of you. _

Araiki shook his head. Why wouldn't the voice leave him alone?

_Look, brat. You're stuck with me, got it? So stop snivelling already. It's driving me nuts... you're such a crybaby. _

"I'm-I'm not a crybaby!" Araiki wiped at his blue and green eyes.

_Well, if you're not, why are you crying then? Why do you cry so much whenever you're in here? _

"I don't like this place. I'm all alone, and... and Shuuki-kun and Rindou-chan aren't here to play with me."

_So, you cry because you're weak...heh heh...  
_

"I'm not weak," Araiki retorted, though a little too softly.

_You depend upon your friends to bring you happiness. That is weak... A person who is strong depends only upon themselves for their happiness. _

Araiki didn't answer; he listened to what the voice had to say.

_A person who is strong doesn't let other people treat them like they are weaklings; they're their own masters. Does this sound familiar, kid? _

"Dad..." Araiki whispered. "He treats me like a weakling."

_You're catching on, kid. You say you're not weak, but you let your old man treat you like one. Is this what you want- to grow up having to live like this? Where making one little mistake gets you thrown into this dump? _

"I... don't..." Araiki's squeeze on his legs tightened. "I don't want to have to be in here anymore. I want to go outside, and... and go have fun."

_Well done, kid. You've admitted you have a problem. Heh heh... If you want to go out and play more, then you've got to start listening to me. Got it? _

"Uh, yes," Araiki nodded, and then paused. "Do you have a name?"

_Heh heh... yes, I have a name. And it's a very important name. My name is Houkou... Gobi no Houkou... _

* * *

**Some time later...**

"Ara-chan! You came!" Rindou grabbed Araiki's hands and smiled happily.

"Now we can go play!" Shuuki was standing behind her grinning.

Araiki smiled back at them.

The girl pouted a little in thought as she saw him smile. "Ara-chan... your smile seems different today."

"Different?" asked the collared boy.

"Yeah..." Rindou thought about it a little more then shrugged it off. She pulled him behind her. "Come on, let's go to the playground."

Araiki ran along with them towards the playground. The three began to laugh excitedly, until a tall figure blocked their path. Araiki stopped running, pulling Rindou behind him. Shuuki stumbled into Rindou's back. She ignored it as they all stared up.

"Araiki, you disappointed me again." Araiki's father's voice was full of hate. "Sneaking out of the house like that... Did you think you'd really get away with it?"

The boy quivered, fear overwhelming him.

"Answer! 'Yes, sir', or 'No, sir'!"

_Are you going to let him treat you like this? _

"No..." whispered Araiki.

"'_No_'...? You mean 'No, sir'! Say it again!"

Araiki looked up at his father, a stubborn expression taking over his face. Rindou squeezed his hand supportively. "I mean, 'no' as in I won't go back with you! I'm going to stay here with my friends!"

"Your punishment for that outburst will land you in _there_ for a week without food, unless you come back with me now."

Araiki stepped back. "No, I'm not going back there! You can't make me!"

The man stormed forward towards him, his hand reaching for Araiki's collar. "I can, and I will. You can't defy me. I'm your master!"

"You're not my master!" Araiki yelled. "I'm not a weakling! I'll show you!"

_Good work, kid. Now, let me handle this. _

Araiki's father stopped dead in his tracks. "You... But you shouldn't..."

"Heh heh..." Large fangs grinned manically at him. "Long time no see."

"Ara-chan...?" asked Rindou, frightened at the change in his voice. From her place, she couldn't see his face.

"You two kids better get home." He dropped his grip on her hand.

"No, we're staying here with you!" said Rindou. Shuuki nodded.

He turned his face to the two and their eyes widened. Araiki's eyes were completely black, void of everything. He grinned at them. "How about now?" After a second, they both shook their heads. "Strong wills... fine, but what you're going to see won't be pretty." He turned back to the man. "Your _son_ said he didn't want to go back."

"I'm his master. And yours as well! You do what _I_ say!" He spat at him. "Now go back to where you belong, demon."

"Heh heh... You think you control me, Gobi no Houkou, one of the most feared creatures ever born? No chance. If you want him back, you'll have to fight me..." He cracked his knuckles threateningly.

**A few minutes later... **

Araiki was on his hands and knees, gasping for air. He felt a bit bruised, but mostly tired. There was a moan in front of him and he looked up. He froze.

"But I'm your master..." whispered his father, before the air left his lungs and his eyes glazed over. The ground reeked of blood.

"Ara-chan!" Rindou yelled and the boy whipped around. Rindou was on the ground, sniffing back tears. She held Shuuki in a hug as the younger boy cried.

"Rindou-chan! Shuuki-kun!" Araiki scrambled to his feet and ran over to them. He sat before them and gave a shaky smile. "He's not... he's not my master anymore. I'm my own master now!"

For once, the sun never felt brighter and warmer.

* * *

**A/N: -**gets tissues- Poor little Araiki! You gotta feel sorry for him. How was the battle, huh? Kinda short, I suppose... but I wanted to get straight into Araiki's story. Anyway, if you have any questions for the characters of the story, ask away. 

**Jutsu used: **

_A note on 'storing' jutsu-_ Only certain jutsu can be 'stored' within a user, such as with Kaisui's _Funsui_ jutsu. And as the time goes on, the specially converted chakra becomes lower and less powerful unless renewed. Some degree of control is needed to store the chakra as well. Take note that Tsunade uses this kind of technique for her _Genesis Rebirth_ jutsu.

**Suiton; Funsui no jutsu**_ (Water release; Water fountain technique)_(Ninjutsu) (Water Element) (D rank) A water jutsu that spouts jets of high-pressure water at an enemy to knock them away.

**Suiton; Mizubashira no jutsu**_ (Water Release; Waterspout technique)_ (Ninjutsu) (Water Element) (B rank) A powerful water jutsu that creates a waterspout. Can only be used where there is a sufficient amount of water. Created by the Arainami clan from the Mist- a clan that specialises in powerful water jutsus.

This jutsu would not have been possible to use by only one of the Arainami siblings because of the amount of chakra needed to use it. One of the beauties of this jutsu created by the clan is that even if the waterspout starts off small, it feeds upon the water around to fuel it and make it more powerful. It is a hard jutsu to beat, unless a person is able to get within the waterspout to the user and knock them out.

**Leave a review :D Thankies! **


	23. Farewell, Sister

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **I'm so sorry it's been a while since I updated! I guess I lost my inspiration for a while! D: And I had some artwork to catch up with on deviantart. But anyway, here's the next chapter!

**Questions: **

**Q- Araiki's eyes- genetic quirk, or some sort of bloodline? **

**A- **I guess you could call it a genetic quirk... just like how Naruto has those whisker marks from the Kyuubi.

**Q- Houkou hates Nekomata? **

**A-** I think they're still bitter at each other for losing against the Kyuubi. Nibi was almost killed by Kyuubi, but was saved by Shinigami. And Houkou ran off to his healing tree, leaving Nibi behind.

**Q- Houkou not possessing Araiki out of his own free will? **

**A- **Houkou and Araiki's relationship is a lot like Naruto's. Houkou can take over through his own free will, but this is only when Araiki loses his temper. For the most part, Araiki keeps Houkou under check.

**Questions for the characters! **

**Q- Kita, what's it like being a cat/panther/human/hybrid-thingy?**

**Kita- **Confusing, to say the least. I'm not sure what species I am either... I guess I'm just a demon cat the size of a panther. It seems that I may grow a big bigger though, if Nibi is any indication. I really do wish I could stay in a definite human form though so I wouldn't have to waste chakra transforming every morning... It's a pain in the tail.

* * *

**_Chapter 23: Farewell, Sister _**

**Team Omega and G2... **

"My father had intended me to be a special weapon for the Hidden Grass after he sealed Houkou in me, but the power went to his head. I believe that is why he treated me like that," Araiki said. "Why you had Nekomata sealed in you was for different reasons than mine..."

"That doesn't make a difference," Kita responded. "What was the start has become similar towards the end."

"I guess so..." he whispered thoughtfully. He imagined that Kita got the exact same stares he had gotten after the incident- full of hatred and fear.

Sora put a hand on Kita's shoulder. "We should get going now. The sun is setting."

"I have one more thing," Kita said, getting Araiki's attention. "I told you before, but I want to remind you. There is a danger coming for those like us. I'm not sure exactly what, but I have heard rumours from the Fire Country and information from another of our kind of a group who are intent on capturing the 'jinchuuriki', namely, us. All I can tell is that if they catch us, we will be killed."

"'Jinchuuriki'? That is what what they call us?" asked Araiki._ The power of human sacrifice...  
_

Kita nodded. "Yes, so be prepared and don't take them on, no matter what. If there is any danger, you should try and get in contact with us."

"Who exactly is 'us'?" Araiki looked concerned.

"So far I know of two others;" Kita frowned. "One of them is already in this exam along with us, and the other's (who I haven't met), whereabouts are unknown. You should be able to tell us apart from other people, so if you find any other 'jinchuuriki', inform them also. It's important they know."

"Okay..." nodded the brown-haired boy. He turned back to Rindou and Shuuki. "Let's get going."

"Us too, it's getting late," agreed Kita.

Rindou and Shuuki leapt off into the forest. Araiki started to jump off, but paused and glimpsed back at Kita. "Thank you, cat-girl." He gave a grin and disappeared into the forest.

Kita gave a small 'humph' of annoyance, then smiled and turned to her team mates. "Well, looks like we were lucky today."

"Sure were," agreed Sora, looking down at the scrolls in her arms. "But this does makes things a lot more complicated at the same time."

"Yeah, it would, wouldn't it?" Kita sighed. "Let's go find a place to camp though."

* * *

Yanagi squinted in the darkness as she tried to inspect the water surrounding the island. After exploring the island, they had discovered the left-overs from the Mist genin's camp, including a small stash of food.

"What do you think happened to those two?" asked the black-haired girl to her team mates.

"Don't know, don't care," growled Kita as she bit into a muesli bar. "They probably floated downstream. If they're lucky, some of the examiner patrols would have picked them up."

"Don't worry, Yanagi-chan," grinned Sora. "I'm pretty sure they won't be coming back."

"Hope so..." She gave up looking and took a seat on a rock. "So, what did you guys means by things getting a lot more complicated? We've got five scrolls now. All we need is one more, and we're set."

Kita took the scrolls out and spread them out on the ground. She only recognised Araumi and Kaisui's scrolls among the new ones. The other two were from teams she didn't recognise as belonging to the strong teams from before. "Now that we have so many, we'll be targeted more often if people know. And I'm sure that our battle on the lake didn't go unseen. Our main priority isn't just getting Sora's scroll anymore; it's keeping the ones we have safe."

There was a few minute's silence among the trio.

"Araiki..." Sora mumbled. "That guy is going to be pretty tough to beat. His whole team too. If that battle had been land-based, they would have been able to wipe those Mist guys out in no time."

"Yeah," nodded Yanagi, "water-based battles are horrible. My clothes got soaked."

_Araiki..._ Kita frowned with concern. _He's scared of his own strength. That's why he got Houkou to fight for him. Of course he could have gotten rid of that jutsu just as well, but he's afraid of losing control. Just like me and my bloodline... I need to figure out a way to use it without it cutting me to shreds. Things are never easy... _

_And they never will be, _Nibi interjected into her thoughts. _I admire how you stood up to Houkou; I think he's taken a small liking to you. It's been a while since somebody told him off. Not since him and I fought Kyuubi together. _

_So he did mean it when he said you two have a history together? _Kita asked. _And how do you know he's taken a liking to me? He seems like an arrogant mutt to me. _

_Of course he's taken a liking to you. Or else you'd be missing an arm right now. And he's always arrogant, it comes with the power. _

Kita gave a sarcastic laugh. _And here I thought it was all because you guys were insane sadists... _

_Well, that too, _Nibi chuckled.

Kita sighed intolerably.

"You know," said Yanagi suddenly, giving Kita a welcome interruption from her own conversation. "It's hard to believe we're here already. It's like it was only a few days ago that we graduated."

"Sure feels like it to me," agreed Sora.

"Not me," Kita shook her head. "Seems like an eternity ago. But it makes me wonder what things are going to be like after the exam."

"And how much we'll have grown because of it," added Sora. "I wonder what we'll be like when we're older. You know, when we're all jounin?"

"I'm going to be the most beautiful jounin in Iwagakure," smiled Yanagi. "I'll deceive everyone with my beauty." She giggled.

"I believe you because you're already the most beautiful genin!" Sora leapt onto Yanagi and squeezed her. Yanagi blushed and giggled harder. Sora continued, "and when we're older, we'll get married and have lots of beautiful kiddies!"

"Sora!" Yanagi's blush enveloped her entire face and started to struggle to get out of his grip.

Kita laughed with them, enjoying the brief moment of happiness.

After Yanagi had gotten Sora off by whacking him with her fan, she looked over at the cat-eared girl. "Hey, Kita. What about you?"

"Huh?" Kita's laughter faded as her expression became thoughtful. "Well, I hadn't really thought about it. It's hard to think more than one day ahead. I think it comes with being a cat." She gave a crooked smile. "But, now that you've asked. I did always have a dream when I was younger; I'd become a special jounin like my dad, and I'd train a group of genin, just like Rosuto-sensei has with us."

"You don't want to become Tsuchikage or anything like that?" asked Yanagi, slightly surprised.

Kita shook her head. "I don't think the village would trust me enough to allow me to become its protector. Anyway, what about you, Sora?"

"As much as I hate that woman, I'm gonna have to follow in my mum's footsteps." Sora sighed. "I'll go into the interrogation division of the special forces like her."

"Well, you would be good at it," said Kita. She stifled a yawn. "I'm going to get some sleep. I was up all last night on guard. When it's my turn for it, just wake me up."

"Night, Kita," replied Yanagi and Sora.

Kita curled up on the ground. Within a few minutes, she had dropped back into her cat form.

* * *

**The Chuunin Exam– Part One: The Third Day... **

**Team Omega **

Morning... not even a bird chirped in the sullen sunrise for the third day of the Chuunin Exam. This only meant one thing- blood had been spilled.

The waves of the lake lapped gently at the rough shore of the tiny island Team Omega had retired to for the night. The air was generally still, and although it was young in the morning, the humidity was already stifling. There was a hint of coming rain in the sky. Team Omega rose, feeling the heat of the day already sticking to them.

"I heard fighting in the distance last night," announced Kita as she stretched in her human form, albeit in a cat-like fashion. "It didn't sound pretty... And I could smell a lot of blood on the wind."

"It's the third day; people are starting to get desperate," Sora replied, stretching as well.

Yanagi wiped the sleep from her eyes. She wasn't much the morning person. "I bet it'll be even worse tomorrow, and the day after that."

"Yeah..." agreed Kita quietly. She quickly swept her hair back into her ponytails and walked towards the lake. "Well," she turned around and gave a grin at her team mates. "It's a new day, and I think it's the day we find Sora's scroll."

"Yeah!" cheered Yanagi, running up to her after fixing her own hair (which had gone slightly frizzy in the humidity).

Sora nodded and grinned, but gave her a concerned look as she spun back around. _Kita... you're a lot more worried than the mask you put on shows. What is up with you anyway? Are you worried about us?_

* * *

_Are we getting close to our area?_ asked Yanagi psychically to her team mates. The air in the forest was stuffy and hot, though the large trees did provide some cover from the sun.

Kita sniffed the humid air. _Yeah, I'm sure we're close,_ she replied. _And we're also close to something else... _

_I can smell it too now. Geez, that reeks... _Sora covered his nose with a sleeve. _It's from that fighting you were telling us about before, right? _

_Yeah..._ Kita nodded. She stopped running and pushed aside some bushes. She breathing hitched in her throat. She had seen some bad things in her time... but this was horrible.

"I thought as much," she whispered, stepping through the bushes to kneel down beside the victims. "Kaisui and Araumi... They were too weak to fight back and they got torn apart."

Yanagi clung to Sora's arm, looking terrified. "Who would do something like this?"

Kita looked down at the two siblings. Their bodies were completely shredded, as though something had squeezed them until they could take no more... Her nose twitched; under the smell of the corpses, there was a hint of something like perfume- sweet and aromatic. Kita found Kaisui's hand and pried it open. She grabbed what was in the hand and went back to Yanagi and Sora to show them.

"Huh... what's that?" asked Sora, taking it and looking it over. "A fang?"

"No, that's not it. It's a rose thorn. Mum grows them in the garden." Yanagi's brow furrowed. "And I recognise where this is from too. Those freaky clone girls. You know, the ones that were annoying Kita at the start of the exam."

Kita glanced back at the bloody shells and shook her head sadly. "I know I said I don't care, but still..."

"Yeah," agreed Sora. "You gotta feel at least a little sorry for them. They were tired and weak. When those clone girls found them and discovered they had no scrolls, they stood no chance. They were defenceless."

Yanagi looked around nervously. "They're not here still, are they?"

"No, I don't smell anyone near," Kita replied. "They must have smelt this too and decided to give it a wide berth." She had a brief thought. "I'm going to check something guys. Could you go, um..." She gave a apologetic expression at them.

"Sure, come on Yanagi." Sora led Yanagi away, the girl still clinging onto his arm.

The cat-eared girl's eyes opened wide as she activated her Cat's Eye to scan the area. Sitting next to a tree were the souls of Kaisui and Araumi. They held each other's hand and stared lifelessly up into the blood-red sky that was limbo. Kita walked over to them.

"So you're still here?"

Kaisui looked down. Her face had no expression, but Kita could feel her surprise radiating from her. _You... we fought you yesterday. _

Kita nodded. "Yeah."

_But how can you see us? We're... we're... _Kaisui faded off as she struggled with the word.

_...dead._ Araumi finished her sentence for her in a whisper.

"I'm here to help you pass over." Her fists tightened slightly. "Though... I don't think I have enough energy at the moment for both of you. The last few days have been tough on me."

_But you have to send us! _Kaisui protested.

Kita shook her head. "I'm sorry... I can't... I can't even send one of you."

Kaisui stood up to face Kita. Her arms went right through the cat-eared girl as she tried to grab her shoulders. Kaisui stared at her hands for a minute, a feeling of disbelief radiated from her. Her arms fell to her side. _You... _she said, her voice shaky, yet strong. _If you had the energy, you would send us, right? _

Kita nodded.

The spirit glanced back at her younger brother, then back to Kita. _I don't want Araumi to be here. He's more innocent than me. Out of the two of us, he's the only one who deserves to pass over. If... if I give you my soul... will you be able to send him? _

"The thing about when you've become a spirit;" Kita muttered, looking away, "is that your true nature comes out. Your true nature is that you really do care for your brother... But I don't think it's right for me to take your soul..."

_Please..._ Kaisui begged. _Please, take my soul in exchange. You have to! _

_What... Kaisui! No!_ Araumi grabbed onto his older sister. _You don't have to do that, not for me! _

Kaisui pulled Araumi into a tight embrace. _But I want to. I don't want to see you stuck here. _

The Nekomusume stared into her lifeless eyes. If Kaisui had been human, tears would have fallen. Kita gave a sigh of defeat. "Alright... But you do know..."

_I know..._ she nodded. _But... it's worth it. At least it's worth it to me. _

_Kaisui..._ Araumi whispered, holding onto his sister.

Kita removed the glove on her hand. "I'll make sure he's taken care of," she said reassuringly, reaching her hand out.

Kaisui reached her own hand out and took Kita's. Her spirit began to shine brightly. Through the light, Kita could see the lifeless face change and start smiling. _Bye, little bro. _

_Sister! _Her brother yelled as Kaisui faded away, leaving him hanging onto thin air.

"Time to go, Araumi..."

The boy stared at Kita. His lifeless eyes widened as he saw her. She looked different as she stood with her hand still outreached, white flames roaring around her and a pair of slitted purple eyes glowing through the fire.

_You're no normal human... _he gasped.

"That's right," Kita replied from within the flames. "This is what you become, when you learn the powers of the Nekomata. Your sister loved you very much, Araumi. Go fulfil her wish for her."

Araumi looked up as the flames consumed him. A bright, blinding light was calling him. It was so peaceful...

"Say 'hi' to Shinigami for me, okay?"

_Okay... and thank you... Especially you, sister..._

In a flash, he was gone.

The flames around Kita burst off. She fell to her knees and panted. _Man, I hate doing those proper ceremonies. They take up so much chakra. How do you do it, Nibi? _

_You just did it, didn't you? _purred the bijuu. _A soul contains a lot of energy. You haven't learned how to utilise them properly yet; you didn't fully use that brat's spirit to maximum advantage. _

_That's the first time I've ever... some of your powers are just... sick..._

_Don't blame me,_ retorted Nibi snootily. _It's just the way things are. And remember, I'm not lending you any of my chakra. _

_The way things are stinks... I'm pooped, and it's not even midday yet._ Kita's breathing slowed to normal. She rose to her feet and made her way towards Yanagi and Sora.

"Kita, you look terrible!" announced Yanagi, rushing over to give her a hand.

"Yeah, I've felt better..." she groaned back.

Sora grabbed something out of his pouch and handed it to Kita. "Here, this will help."

Kita examined the small brown ball in her hand. "A soldier pill?"

The blue-haired boy nodded. "This will work as a temporary solution. Though, it'll work best if you avoid getting into any fights."

"'Kay, thanks," Kita chewed on it and swallowed. She instantly felt better. She wiped the sweat from her brow. "It's too hot to fight anyway,"

"I agree with you there." Yanagi gave the sky a reproachful look.

"Let's keep going," Sora suggested.

"Yeah, time's slipping away," nodded Kita, taking the lead. "We're not too far away, I can smell it."

* * *

The trio ran through the forest, avoiding the open spaces exposed to the sun. The air stayed stuffy and humid; not even the crickets were willing to chirp in preference to save energy. 

_Almost there,_ Kita said, gazing forward to the bright light outside the boundaries of the trees.

The three ran out into the light and stopped. They had stepped out of a forest into a valley made of nothing but wasteland. Strange rock formations stuck out of the parched and cracked clay. A cliff rose up and ran along one side of the valley.

_Yeap, this looks like our area then..._ Sora raised an eyebrow. _What do we do about finding my scroll? _

_Let's just scout the area first. _Kita gazed up at the glaring sun.

Yanagi pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes. _Hey, what if someone already _has_ Sora's scroll? What then? _

_We're just gonna hope nobody has,_ Kita sighed. _It's better to try looking for it than leaving it and not knowing. Let's go. _

Together they sprinted out into the wasteland.

* * *

"Hey, that's her." Kasukako whispered urgently as she lowered her grey goggles that had telescopic lenses inside. The seven year-old shook her hair free of the strap and turned beside her. "Did you notice that?"

"Notice what?" asked Maboroshi, pulling his goggles down as well.

"Strange," interjected Hyouden, pressing a button on his goggles to switch off the binoculars. "The way they were moving while they were stopped."

Kasukako tapped a delicate finger on her chin. "Yeah..."

"What, what is it?" asked Maboroshi in want of an answer.

The girl beside him sighed irritably. "Seriously, Maboroshi-kun, I can't believe you didn't notice! While they were standing around, the made movements and facial expressions that would normally indicate that they were engaged a conversation. But, if you had noticed, their lips didn't move, not once."

"Serious?" The brown-haired boy blinked.

She nodded. "I don't remember anything on that Kita-girl's scroll about any particular abilities."

"Perhaps, it has nothing to do with her, but one of her team mates," Hyouden contemplated. "However, we do not have their scrolls to reference from."

Maboroshi groaned and sat up off of his stomach. He ran a hand through his hair to get it out of his eyes. "It's the third day, so our chances of finding their scrolls are slim."

"So, what do we do then, Hyouden-san?" Kasukako asked the team leader. "Go searching for scrolls, or go after them?"

Hyouden gazed down into the valley, seeing Kita and her two team mates down below. "She's definitely the team leader of that group... that proves that the information on her scroll is outdated." A small smile crept onto his face. "I want to fight her and see just how much she's improved."

* * *

**A/N: **Well... yeah... uh... not much to say. A new battle coming soon. 

**Character List- **

Okay, I had a request for a list of OC characters from InsaneScriptist. Here are the teams in the Chuunin Exam to begin with (and their name meanings, because I'm lazy and this is a pre-made list I had):

**Stone- **

**Team Omega-** Jotei Yanagi _(Empress Willow)_, Kigaino Sora _(Strong Spirit of the Sky)_, Mitsukai Kita _(North Angel)_+ Ishi Hana _(Stone Flower) _

**Team Delta-** Ishi Tansei _(Handsome Stone)_, Hyoumei Yume _(Dream Manifestation)_, Jieichou _(Captain of the Guard)_

**Leaf- **

**Team 8- **Kiba, Hinata, Shino

**Team 9- **Sakura, Ino, Chouji

**Team Gai-** Lee, Neji, Tenten

**Sand- **

**Sand Siblings-** Gaara, Temari, Kankuro

**Grass- **

**Team G2-** Genno Araiki _(Wild Illusion of the Tree)_, Rindou _(Bellflower)_, Shuuki _(Autumn Air)_

**The Grass Sisters-** Ouritsu Masakari _(Full Bloom Royal)_, Ouritsu Hanbiraki_ (Half Bloom Royal)_, Ouritsu Tsubomi _(Flower Bud Royal)_

**Mist- **

**Team Breakwater -** Kaiteimaru _(Bottom of the Ocean)_, Arainami Araumi _(Wild Waves Rough Sea)_, Arainami Kaisui _(Wild Waves Ocean Water)_

**Snow- **

**Team Avalanche-** Hyouden _(Field of Eternal Snow)_, Hatsuyukiwo Kasukako _(First Snow for the Hazy Child)_, Touzoku Maboroshi _(Phantom Thief)_

**Cloud- **

**Gold Team-** Rei _(Play on Rai- Lightning)_, Mikomi _(Hope)_, Tsuiraku Uteki _(Falling Raindrops)_

Along with that, the other OC characters are:

**Stone-**

Mitsukai Hissori _(Silent Angel)_, Hoshino Rosuto _(Star of the Lost)_, Nurse Bara _(Rose)_, Ekiyuu _(Good Friend)_, Ishi Benkeino _(Strong Man of the Stone)_, Usako _(Little Rabbit)_, Akujo _(Wicked Woman)_, Migoto Rein _(Beautiful Rain)_,

**Cloud- **

Hasaki _(Edge of a Blade) _

**Grass- **

Ouritsu Jouryoku _(Royal Evergreen) _

I hope I didn't forget anyone. If you're confused on who any of these people are, just ask.

**Review, and any questions/suggestions are welcome! **


	24. Ice and Snow

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **University starts next week... things have been busy, so I apologise for the lateness. Anyway, hope you enjoy the battle and that- it took me ages to write... It's a little short, but I hope you'll forgive me!

**Questions: **

**Q- What happened to Kaisui? And why didn't Kita just revive them again? **

**A- **Kaisui- you'll see. And Kita couldn't really revive them anyway. The Nekomata deals with death, and even then the Shinigami would have to be consulted. And overall, both Kaisui and her brother's bodies were damaged beyond repair. Putting the souls back in the bodies would be the worst thing possible.

**Questions for the characters! **

**Q-** Kita, what are you gonna do if you meet the Grass Sisters again? 

**Kita-** I'll definitely be telling them how wrong it is to kill defenceless people, that's for sure.

**Q- **Sora, you said you've read Yanagi's mind before, what did you see?

**Sora-** I've seen some weird things in Yanagi-chan's head. She dreams about fluffy pink clouds and blue teddy bears all dancing and singing together in a meadow full of sunshine... bleh.

* * *

**_Chapter 24: Ice and Snow _**

**Team Omega... **

Yanagi took a drink from her canteen. "I can't stand this heat. And we still haven't found anything!" She punched the side of a nearby rock, immediately regretting it and waving her hand around. She growled at the rock. "One day I'll be able to break you with just one finger!"

_Yanagi, shh! We're completely exposed out here; it's not safe to go drawing attention to ourselves!_ Sora raised a finger to his lips.

_Sorry..._ Yanagi sighed. _Kita, have you found anything? _

_Not yet, there's too many hidden places._ Kita replaced the rock she had moved to look under. She looked back to where Sora and Yanagi were standing, checking out a rock some metres away from her.

_Oh, a breeze! _Yanagi suddenly exclaimed, turning her face to the cool wind and smiling in relief from the heat.

The wind picked up a little, growing colder.

Kita sniffed the air. _Wait... something's not right about this wind! I smell chakra on it! _

_Chakra!_ Yanagi turned to her. She shivered. _It's getting cold! _

White flecks floated past on the ever-quickening wind, splattering on the trio's cheeks.

Sora put his hand up to feel it. _Snow? _

_I hear something on the wind..._ Kita closed her eyes and cupped her hands around her ears._ 'Gousetsu no jutsu'? _Her eyes widened. _An ice jutsu! _

_Kita!_ yelled Yanagi as the snow turned into a flurry of white, separating the three in the unseeable storm.

_Yanagi, Sora!_ Kita shouted in her mind. Suddenly, she realised she had lost her psychic link with the others. _But then... Sora must be hurt! _

Kita's ears twitched as something whizzed through the air. The girl ducked, just in time as a kunai struck the rock formation behind her. Kita looked up at it. It was shaped a bit like an arrow, with an elongated shaft. Kita pulled it out of the rock. It was heavy. There was no way a normal bow or human hand could handle it.

There was another sound similar to the first. Kita leapt away from it, trying to find a way her way to a place to take cover. It was like being blind though; the snow made it impossible to see.

_How on earth can they see me in this! _Kita thought wildly. She leapt out of the way again and felt around her for the side of the rock. Her hands only felt air. _No cover... I'm wide open. Great..._ Kita rolled away from another strange kunai.

The snow began to thin down around Kita. Slowly, it began to form a circle, enclosing her inside. Through the snow, three grey silhouettes appeared.

"You were right about the scroll being outdated, Hyouden," Kita heard a muffled boy's voice.

The three figures stepped out into the snow-less circle. Two of them pulled down their snow goggles to look Kita over; a boy and a younger girl. Kita's ears turned back angrily.

"You must have pretty good hearing to dodge my kunai harpoons in this weather." The young girl shrugged her right shoulder, where a large metal tube was placed. Kita stared at it; it was a strange kind of tube, with a crosshair on top and some sort of larger barrel on the end with a trigger under it. The girl held a finger warily over it.

Kita pulled herself off the ground to face her. "What do you want? Why'd you cut me off from my team?"

The boy with his goggles still on held up a scroll with Kita's name on it. "This is you, yes?"

"Yeah, it is..." Kita growled. "Why?"

"The information on this scroll is rather pathetic." His voice held a hint of amusement. "And judging from your performance just then and how you act as team leader... I am curious about why and by how much the scroll is wrong."

"So you want to challenge me to a fight?" Kita snapped angrily. "But three on one isn't exactly a fair match, not that I couldn't take you all anyway."

"I don't want a three on one. It'll be just you and me." Hyouden hid a smile. "So, do you accept?"

Kita thought it over. _Sora said to avoid any fights or else that soldier pill will get used up and fast, leaving me with nothing. But, at the moment, there's no way I can avoid it. This snow is preventing me from getting anywhere fast. And those goggles... I think they had something to do with them being able to see me in the snow. _She growled, angry at the predicament and herself for getting into it. She glared up at the oldest of the Snow trio. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"No." He shook his head. "So get ready!"

In a flash he was in front of her, sending a punch into her cheek. Kita flew up into the air.

_Fast..._ she thought as she twisted in the air and landed on all fours. She spat a little blood out of her mouth. _I'll use up too much chakra using jutsu. Summoning spirits won't be of any either. I'm going to have to stick to pure taijutsu. _Her eyes twitched. He was coming again.

Hyouden yelled a battle cry as he sent another punch towards the cat-eared girl. His hand passed through air as the girl just barely dodged it. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him in, kneeing him in the stomach before giving him an upper cut to his chin. This time, it was Hyouden's turn to go falling back.

Kita tightened her fist, claws drawing out- Now wasn't the time for any fancy moves. She had to end this and dispel the snow storm jutsu before she ran out of strength.

Hyouden coughed and stood back up, clutching his stomach. He hadn't expected such a brawling-style of fighting from this little girl, but then again, he was intrigued and wanted to see how far she could go. The pain in his stomach receded and he went at her again.

_Not this again..._ thought Kita, getting ready for the punch. Just before the older boy sent out his arm, he sent her sprawling across the snow with a kick to the side. Kita wiped the snow off of her face. _He used the punch as a diversion...! I better be more careful. _

She got to her feet and immediately dodged a punch from Hyouden. The older boy threw punches and kicks at her, aiming to force her to the ground. The two traded blows for a minute until Hyouden caught her with another kick, sending her to the ground.

Kita rolled out of the way as he went to stomp her on the ground. As she rolled, Kita spun around and kicked Hyouden's leg, putting him off balance and ploughing his face into the white snow. Kita leapt back to catch her breath.

_She hasn't used anything other than taijutsu yet. Strange..._ Hyouden rose to his feet, the snow falling off his goggles. His cobalt eyes looked the girl up and down. She seemed tired, though they hadn't been fighting long. _Perhaps... she _is_ as pathetic as her statistics state. _

Hyouden started to build up some hand seals. Kita's ear flattened back as she watched, unsure of what he was going to do and how to combat it. He finished. "_Yukiyake no jutsu_!"

Snow from the whirling wall shot out towards Kita. She leapt into the air to avoid it. Instead of hitting the ground, the jet of snow followed her up. Kita's eyes widened as it caught her on the right side of her body. The snow was freezing, sending a searing burning sensation over her. Kita gave a cry of pain and fell onto the snow below. Overhead, thunder rumbled and the sky started to begin filling up with dark clouds.

Hyouden appeared over her. "Why are you being so unserious about this fight?" he asked, looking down his nose at her.

The girl only growled back, her right side completely numb and useless to her. She shakily pulled herself up, holding onto her right shoulder and trying to keep her foot off of the ground. She cringed from the pain.

"You look like a lame animal," he remarked, his voice keeping cool. "There's no way you can continue this. If you're not willing to lie down and admit defeat, I'm going to have to force you to say it."

"I won't lie down," Kita replied, trying to ignore the pain. "I'm not the kind to simply give up."

"Then so be it. You'll admit defeat on your feet." Hyouden closed his eyes temporarily and started on a new set of hand seals. "_Hi __reikyuu__ no jutsu_!"

Ice crystals sprung out of the snow and started to swirl around Kita, flinging the snow up into a flurry. Clear, cold ice ran up Kita's legs, slowly encasing her in a frosty coffin.

_I can't fight it...! I'm too tired..._ Kita thought despairingly as the ice crawling up to her stomach. She glared across at Hyouden. "Why did you decide to fight me? You could have challenged anyone, but why me?"

Hyouden stood with his hands by his side. "Because, I wanted to see how much the scroll was wrong by. Maybe it was correct after all."

"But, that's not the only reason, is it?" asked Kita, feeling the ice creep a little further. "You challenged me... just to see how different I was from what a piece of paper says about me?"

The older boy half-nodded. "I suppose that is the main reason. But I guess it is also because I am curious about the techniques of others. All my life I was stuck inside my village. This is the first time I've ever been outside. And for that matter, the first time I've seen ninja other than my fellow Snow ninja. I want to know all that I can before I return. And by having knowledge, I can gain strength to face anyone, no matter how strong they are. That is why I challenge opponents who I think will be strong."

_He's a lot like Sora..._ Kita thought as he spoke. _He values knowledge as well... I've been ignorant, letting my ego and instincts get the better of me. I can't keep running from people stronger than me. I can't keep leading Yanagi and Sora away from fights. By running away, we only make ourselves weaker. Not this time... But to beat this guy, I will need to reach a new level... _

_Perhaps... I can help..._ came a faint whisper within Kita's spirit.

Kita felt the world slow before her eyes as shock filled her. _Kaisui? You're still... _

_Alive? No... But I still _exist_, within your own soul. You didn't totally use up all my spirit, I still have strength left. And, I never thanked you properly. _

_But if you still exist, then maybe I can send you- _

_No!_ Kaisui's cry made Kita's heat tighten. _I never thanked you for Araumi! I'm going to help you, like it or not- to make it even! That power... inside you, I feel it too. It's almost like I can reach out and... _

Kita's eyes widened.

_CRACK!_

In a flash of gold-coloured light, the ice shattered into splinters, flying off into the air. Kita watched in amazement as the light bounced off the ice and shone bright spots of light over the area.

Hyouden put his arm up to shield his face as the ice showered down upon him.

Thunder roared overhead as a bolt of lightning struck down nearby. Drops of rain began to fall.

* * *

From within the recesses of Kita's mind, Nibi grinned widely, thinking things over. _Whoever said humans didn't have great power? Because of that... human spirits... are delicious... _

Kita didn't notice as the remnants of Kaisui's spirit vanished wordlessly into the darkness of a pair of golden eyes.

* * *

**Hours later...**

Yanagi put her hand outside the stone shelter she had made and let the pouring rain soak into a piece of cloth. She cringed as thunder boomed nearby. With the cloth properly wet, she drew her hand back in and dabbed at Sora's forehead with it. There was a bandage on the back of his head from where he had fallen hours ago, hitting his head against an outcrop of rock. His forehead was hot. There were tears in Yanagi's eyes as she rested a cool hand on Sora's head, which lay in her lap. He had passed out, and with that their psychic links had severed.

"Kita... where are you...? I can't handle this without you here." Yanagi wiped at her tears. "Sora... he's in trouble and I don't know what to do."

There was a loud splash outside followed by a wet thud. Yanagi's head jerked up and she pulled her fans out, ready in case of an attack. Gently moving Sora's head into his backpack, she crawled over to the entrance and peeped out.

She gasped when she saw the silver-haired girl face down on the ground, breathing hard. Yanagi scrambled out to her and shook her. "Kita, Kita!" The girl's skin was cold.

"Hey... Yanagi..." she groaned, straining her head to look up and manage a shaky grin. Kita looked worse for wear. Her hair ties were gone, along with half of her ponytails. There were large rips in her skirt, revealing the black shorts she wore underneath. Her gold-coloured top gone; Kita was wearing only her tank top. Her boots seemed okay, though her gloves were shredded. Her entire body was cold to the touch and had what looked like burns on her skin.

"Kita, what happened to you?" Yanagi helped to pulled Kita into the shelter out of the rain.

The girl gave a laugh, which turned into a hacking cough. "I almost... I almost won..." Kita's eyes drooped closed.

"Kita! Please, wake up!" Yanagi shook her by the shoulders. Her shaking slowed as she realised something. _Her cat ears are gone... _

* * *

**Elsewhere... **

"Looks like it's going to be stormy all day tomorrow, guys!" chirped a cheerful voice.

"Is Mikomi-chan right, Uteki?" Golden-brown eyes flickered over to a tree where a silhouette was resting against.

The silhouette took a sniff of the air. "I believe so, Rei."

Mikomi giggled. "We must have the most perfect luck!"

"Yeah, tomorrow we're going to take down everyone we meet!" Rei grinned.

Uteki gave a smile and a nod. "Tomorrow's the day we strike. But for now, we should get some rest. Nobody will be coming out in this weather tonight."

* * *

**A/N: **And that's what happened to Kaisui... Poor girl- it's funny how you have to feel sorry for her now, even after what she did before. 

Okay, I promised you guys before I'd have something special for the next chapter. You can probably see what I'm planning to do. It's about time I introduced you to one of my more favourite teams- Team Gold from the Cloud.

**Jutsu Used: **

**Yukiyake no jutsu **_(Snow Burn)_(Ninjutsu) (C rank) Creates streams of freezing snow that specifically tracks down warmth. The snow is cold enough to cause freeze-burns.

This technique is kind of like a heat-seeker that will follow a chosen target. If a target is caught by the stream for a while, frostbite or hypothermia may set in.

**Hi ****reikyuu**** no jutsu**_ (Ice Coffin)_(Ninjutsu) (D rank) Causes ice crystals to form around a target's area. If there is anything to cling to above it, the ice will grow to cover it.

Normally this is considered a weak jutsu in the Hidden Ice as usually the thickness of the ice is only thin. However, if more chakra is placed into the jutsu, and the user is able to speed up the process, then multiple and stronger layers will be able to form.

**Leave a review please, yay! **


	25. Golden Memories

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **-.- My gosh, I'm sorry I've been such a lazy bum... but just think- if Shikamaru wrote a fanfic, he'd only have written one line by now! . 

Oh, and thank you Ashen Rose for those lovely poems!

**Questions: **

**Q- The Snow genin were defeated? **

**A- **No, no they weren't...

**Q- What did the spirit do? Did she unlock the light powers for her to where she could use them without killing herself?**

**A- **Kita's cat-chakra was unable to fully control her own human bloodline abilities. With the help of Kaisui's human spirit, Kita was able to convert to her human form so that she could use her bloodline without any interference from her cat-side. (Sorry, complicated!)

**Questions for the characters! **

**Q- Have you ever used your Nekomata powers to bring someone back from the dead, Kita? **

**Kita-** Bringing back the dead is something kind of impossible for me... I'm no where near strong enough and even Nibi has trouble, since you need to consult Shinigami-sama first. And he likes to keep souls where they are...

* * *

**_Chapter 25: Golden Memories _**

**Chuunin Exam- Part One: The Fourth Day **

**Team Gold... **

A drop of water landed on Mikomi's nose. She wrinkled it in annoyance and opened her eyes. _Great, there's a hole in the tarp..._ She sat up and examined the tarpaulin tent the team had strung up last night. The plastic fluttered in the gusts of wind that swept through the forest. Mikomi's dark green eyes moved across to her other team mates- Mouko Rei and Tsuraiku Uteki. As usual, Uteki was snoring; that made Mikomi smile a little... At least before Rei's arm flung out of his sleeping bag and whacked Uteki across the face as he turned over.

"The hell? My nose!" Uteki leapt up and held his nose. As he did, he became tangled in his sleeping bag and fell onto his face.

Mikomi clutched her stomach as she laughed, pointing at the two and gasping for breath.

Rei woke with a start and yawned sleepily. His golden-brown eyes slowly wandered over his giggling team mate. "And just what are you laughing at, Koishii Mikomi-chan?" He looked beside himself to Uteki, twisted and struggling on the ground. "How'd you end up like that, Uteki?"

"Oh shut up..." grumbled Uteki, rubbing his nose gingerly. He untangled himself and sighed in relief. "What time is it?"

"It's around six," Mikomi answered, leaning over and grabbing her hitae-ate and armour. She tied the forehead protector over her curly brown hair and strapped on her armour, which seemed to hum slightly.

Rei stuck his head out from beneath the tarp and let the rain fall on his face. He turned back and grinned at Uteki and Mikomi as he pulled his red gloves on. "Nothing's gonna stop us today, guys. This weather is too much in our favour."

Uteki nodded, but his green and gold flecked eyes looked concerned for a second. He tried to hide it by putting his hitae-ate over his long blonde hair, but Mikomi had already seen. She stared at him for a while questioningly. "What?" asked Uteki.

"Just then... you were thinking about sensei, right?" Her hands clenched up as she thought. "It's been such a long time since..."

"Everybody said that we wouldn't even make it here without a proper teacher, but we proved them wrong, didn't we?" Rei cut her off. "I think we've done even better without Hasaki-sensei."

"Hasaki-sensei... they never told us quite what happened to him," Uteki thought out loud.

"We've discussed this before, Uteki-kun," Mikomi frowned. "We heard the rumours- they said he went mad and just deserted us. Think we'll ever see him again?"

Rei shook his head. "I don't think so... in the days leading up to it... we saw that look in his eyes... it was like he had seen something..."

* * *

**Two years ago in Kumogakure... **

"You're going out on another ANBU mission already?" A 12 year-old Uteki sat on the front porch of their home whilst his 13 year-old sister was tying up her bootlaces.

"This is only my second mission since being accepted into the ANBU, Otouto-chan." Tenkyuu patted the ferret-faced mask in her lap as she carefully tied her long gold hair up into a braid. Her eyes glanced across to her brother. Tenkyuu's eyes had always intrigued her little brother. Whereas Uteki's eyes were green (with some slight gold flecks in them), Tenkyuu's eyes were completely gold- not a hint of green in them which were a family trait. Many people had said that it was Tenkyuu's eyes that signified her as a prodigy... a genius. The point seemed proven, given her acceptance into the ANBU at such an age when many were just starting out as genin... like Uteki.

Uteki gave a sigh tinged with jealousy.

Tenkyuu turned, confusing the sigh as one of worry for her. "Don't worry, Otouto-chan, I'll be fine. Your teacher is coming along to supervise me."

"Huh?" Uteki's head jerked up and his swaying legs stopped bumping against the wood. "Hasaki-sensei is coming with you? But he's our teacher! He was supposed to... couldn't they find anyone else?" His hands suddenly tightened into fists. The man had made a promise to them yesterday...

The Tsuraiku prodigy shook her head. "Unfortunately, nobody is available apart from the jounin instructors, and even then a few of them have gone off on out-of-city missions."

Uteki thumped his fist on the wood beneath him. "But we were supposed to train today! He didn't tell us about any of this!"

"It was a last minute arrangement, Uteki." The porch gave a creak as feet stepped onto the polished wood. Hasaki dipped his dog-faced mask down and nodded at Tenkyuu. The girl nodded back.

"Sensei!" Uteki scrambled to stand up. "You told us you'd be giving us special lightning chakra training today!"

Hasaki shrugged. "Sorry, but duty calls. Not that you need much training in it anyway, Uteki." The man stared at Uteki's gold-flecked eyes.

"Well, yeah, but..." Uteki turned his eyes away from the man. "But what about the others! I got stuck with an idiot who only likes to play with that weird spinning toy of his and with a giggling airhead who passed the exams by a fluke!" Uteki looked ready to punch him. "They need all the training they can get!"

Tenkyuu frowned at her brother.

The jounin looked down his nose at the boy. "You sure don't have any respect for your team mates."

"The hell I don't!" yelled Uteki. "I don't need morons like that holding me back!"

"Uteki!" snapped Tenkyuu, standing up and seizing Uteki by the shirt, flinging him around. She grabbed him around the shoulders, her eyes seemed to spark with anger... and in fact, they did. Small sparks of electricity ran across her eyes and carried off into her hair.

Uteki cringed from her fingernails digging into his flesh.

"You listen to me, Uteki!" Whenever she started to call him by name, Uteki knew she was serious. Tenkyuu was furious. She shook him by the shoulders. "Don't you ever disrespect your team mates. One day, those 'morons' will end up saving your life, because you do something thick-headed. They will save you because if you respect them and show them friendship, then they will return the same. These are just your first impressions of them. You've yet to see who they truly are and what their potential is. Use the eyes your family has given you, and use them to see how strong friendship can be." She let go of him and turned her back on him. She pulled down her ferret-mask to hide her tearful face. "Hasaki-san, let's get going... please."

Hasaki pulled on his mask as well. "Yes, I think it's time we did." He looked down at his genin student. "Uteki, go see Rei and Mikomi and teach them yourself if you think they need the help so much. And... get to know them better."

The pair suddenly leapt away into the city. Uteki felt as though he had been deflated like a balloon with a pin. Dejectedly, he set off for the training grounds.

* * *

"Uteki-kun! You're here!" Mikomi giggled and ran over to him as he climbed up the ladder to the mountain top training grounds.

Uteki tried to hide his disdain from the curly-haired girl and looked behind her. Rei was sitting on his knees next to a flat rock, cheering as his spinning top-toy buzzed and flew over the place.

"Um, so where's Hasaki-sensei? Was he on the trolley with you?" Mikomi asked, peering over the ladder down a few metres to where an automated trolley was that brought people up and down to the grounds.

"He's not coming today..." grumbled the blond-haired boy.

Rei let his spinning top fall into his hand as it puttered out. He stood up and walked over. "He's not? What is he doing then?"

"He went on an ANBU mission with my sister. He said it was important." Uteki gritted his teeth, remembering the argument from before.

"You mean, even more important than teaching us how to convert chakra into lightning? Aw man..." groaned Rei. "I was looking forward to it too."

_Teach them yourself if you think they need the help so much..._ Uteki sighed. "Don't worry about him; I'm going to teach you instead."

Mikomi and Rei both blinked. "You're going to teach us?"

"Yeah, you got a problem with that? Because... if you don't want to learn, then that's fine with me!" Uteki crossed his arms and turned away to go back to the ladder.

"No!" A hand grabbed him by the arm. Mikomi smiled at him. "I want to learn. I'm sure you're a great teacher at it."

"Yeah, I want to learn too." Rei grinned.

_And... get to know them better._ Uteki thought for a second, then finally gave a smile. "Alright then, let's get started."

"Unlike most water, earth, and wind chakra that generally use the elements around them to work, lightning chakra is brought up from within, like fire chakra- Although, lightning can be used with outside influences." 

Mikomi raised her hand. "You mean, if we were able to store or catch lightning as it struck, we could use that?"

"Yeah," nodded Uteki, trying to remember his lessons. "But we could use any source that has a strong enough electric charge, as long as you can get a link to it. So tapping directly into the village's power supply is out, since all the cables have been protected to prevent it."

"How do we create lightning chakra then?" asked Rei.

"It's done through the nervous system, because your brain uses electrical signals to control your body," explained Uteki, drawing an awkward diagram in the dirt. "You have to increase the pressure of your chakra around the nerves, so then a current can be established. I'll show you an example, and then maybe I can get you to try it for yourselves."

* * *

**Two Days later...**

Hasaki and Tenkyuu were still away on their mission, but for some reason Uteki was almost glad. He slipped his sandals on and ran out the front gate towards the automated trolley.

_What's wrong with me?_ Uteki asked himself, a slight frown on his features. _Why am I running to get there? Am I actually excited to go see those two again and teach them? They have made some good process... and they're not as moronic as I thought they were... but... _Uteki's frown faded into a smile. He did want to go see his new-found friends again...

As the blonde-haired boy drew closer to the trolley, he saw something out of the corner of his eye, in the forest. Uteki slowed down to get a better look, before his eyes widened. "Hasaki-sensei?" he whispered as he spotted the familiar figure crouched on the forest floor next to a rock. Uteki left the road to go over, a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

The man looked like he had taken a beating- his skin was covered with burns, blood, and bruises. His broken ANBU mask hung limply around his neck.

"Hasaki-sensei?" Uteki reached a hand out towards him.

His head snapped up to look at him. The man's eyes had a wild expression to them, and kept jumping around, from one place to the next. He was shaking. And there was something in his hand...

Uteki felt himself go numb as he saw what his teacher held- a hitae-ate... but it was not his... Uteki instantly recognised that it was Tenkyuu's. "Hasaki-sensei... where... where is my sister?"

Hasaki buried his face into his hands and mumbled something, shaking his head over and over, and making no sense.

"Where is she?" demanded Uteki, grabbing his teacher by the shoulders and shaking him.

The man only continued to ramble incoherently.

"Damn it! Tell me!" yelled Uteki furiously.

Hasaki stopped murmuring and turned his face towards his student. His face twitched and an awkward smile appeared. "They took her away... her and the monster... spirited away by red clouds in a dark sky..."

"No..." Uteki's hands lost their grip from Hasaki's shoulders.

The man gave a crazed grin, his eyes continuing to flit around wildly.

* * *

**Team Gold, present time... **

"'Spirited away by red clouds in a dark sky'..." mumbled Uteki absently.

"What do you think he meant? We've never really stopped to think if there was any meaning to it..." asked Mikomi, hearing him. She peeled a plastic adhesive strip off a roll and sealed up the hole in the make-shift tent.

Rei tapped his finger to his chin. "Perhaps it was some kind of jutsu? Or maybe just a design of some type?"

The three sat in silence for a few minutes before Mikomi cast a slightly worried look at Uteki.

"Uteki..." she whispered, making him look up. Her eyes glanced away from the sight of his. "Tenkyuu... do you miss her?"

A small smile of sadness appeared on the blonde boy's face. "All the time... I'm sure she's still alive..."

Lightning flashed overhead and the rain seemed to come down even harder. The wind whistled loudly through the branches of the forest. Uteki stood up and wiped at his eyes.

"Guys, let's go. We have a lot of catching up to do."

"Yes," nodded Rei and Mikomi.

* * *

**A/N: **Alright... that's pretty much all you need to know at the moment. Next chapter we skip ahead to the final day of the exam and the mad rush to get back to the finish line! 

Oh, and I forgot to say the last names of Rei and Mikomi before! Silly me...

**About the names:**

Tenkyuu- 'Rain from a cloudless sky'

Mouko (Rei)- 'Fierce Tiger'

Koishii (Mikomi)- 'Beloved'

**Until next time!  
**


	26. Pass minus one

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Hehe, another chapter! I've been working hard on this. So enjoy! Oh, and try to answer my question at the bottom.

**Questions: **

**Q- Will Kita ever meet up with Naruto? And will they be enemies, since the Nekomata is not on good terms with the Kyuubi? **

**A- **Hm... since this is a Naruto fanfic, he shall have to turn up at some stage. Looking at Naruto's personality, he's able to make friends with anyone, so I don't really see him and Kita not getting along. _If_ they ever meet up that is.

**Q- Are you gonna use all 9 of the Bijuu in your story?**

**A- **Probably not... for one, in the manga the Akatsuki has already captured two of the jinchuuriki, so mostly likely those ones are dead.

**Questions for the characters!**

**Q-** **Kita, how many villages/countries did you visit on your travels? **

**Kita-** Not as many as you'd think... the Earth Country is actually very big, so I mostly stayed there and then I visited some of Suna while I was with Gaara.

Onto the story!

* * *

**_Chapter 26: Pass! (minus one) _**

**Chuunin Exam- Part One: The Fifth and Final Day **

**Team Omega... **

Sora sat bolt upright, then gave a yelp as pain erupted from the back of his head. He put his hand up and felt a large bump underneath a bandage. He cringed as he felt it pulse with pain. _How'd I get that? Wait... there was a snow storm... and then Kita disappeared... and then I was with Yanagi... But after that..._

Sora blinked as he noticed Yanagi slumped up against the wall of the shelter resting. She looked worn out, with a layer of dirt covering her hands and feet.

"She's been looking after us for the past day..." whispered a scratchy voice from near Sora. He jumped a little before calming down as he saw Kita propped against the side of the hideout. The girl rubbed the bridge of her nose, still seeming tired.

"Kita, what happened? I don't remember anything." Sora whispered back urgently. He looked Kita up and down- her clothes were in shreds. The blue-haired boy blushed slightly and turned his gaze away. "And what happened to you? You look terrible." He took his padded jacket off and handed it to Kita.

"I'm okay... and thanks." Kita gave a small smile as she accepted the jacket and put in on. "I just had a run-in with some of those Snow nin."

"Did you beat them up?" asked Sora, giving a grin at her. His grin instantly fell at the sight of Kita's look of disappointment. "You didn't?"

Kita's eyes scanned the ground, thinking back to the moment she finally fell to the snow-covered ground with Hyouden standing over her and smirking. A few seconds later though, the older boy had fallen too... Kita had blacked out for a while after that; completely exhausted from her efforts. She awoke a little while after, then started the arduous journey back to find Yanagi and Sora again.

"Kita? Hey..." Sora put a hand on Kita's shoulder, bringing her out of her memories. "So?"

The silver-haired girl shook her head. "It's okay... you shouldn't worry about me."

Sora's hands tightened on Kita's shoulder. "But... it's not like you to lose. You're the Nekomusume... you're not supposed to lose."

Kita gently placed Sora's hand back down. "I'm not invincible, Sora... You should know that."

"It just doesn't seem possible though... after what we've seen..." Sora's voice trailed off as he saw Yanagi move.

Yanagi wiped the sleep from her eyes, smudging dirt across her cheeks and nose.

"Good morning, Yanagi-chan." Sora waved.

"Sora!" Yanagi's blue eyes widened and she grabbed him into a hug. "I thought you'd never wake up!"

Sora blushed and grinned. "You sure are affectionate this morning."

Yanagi pushed away from him and glared, wringing his neck with her hands. "You idiot! I'm just glad you're alive."

Sora gasped for air, but grinned anyway.

There was a cough in the corner and Kita raised an eyebrow. "Hey, aren't you glad I'm alive too?"

Yanagi shrugged. "I knew you'd be okay, Kita."

Kita gave her a death-stare for a second before giving a concerned smile. "Yeah, yeah, whatever..."

"Oh!" Yanagi said suddenly. A worried look broke on her face and she started to grab stuff up and shove it into her bag. "Guys, it's the fifth day! And we gotta be back at the starting gate by midday!"

"What's the time now?" asked Sora, pulling his sleeve down to check his watch. His jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "It's ten! We have two hours to get back!"

"Let's get going then!" exclaimed Kita, putting on her battered backpack and going for the exit, with Yanagi not too far behind.

Sora gave another yelp as he hit his head on the entryway. _Dang that hurt..._ he thought then searched through his mind feeling all his psychic contacts severed. _Oh snap for that too... One thing I hate about being a Kigaino is that I'm more sensitive to blows to the head. So much for being psychic if I can't keep things together after a bump to the head!_ He sighed mentally. _I'd better get Hana to fix this up for me when I get back; I'm having trouble even thinking straight. It's going to be tough goings in this second exam. I hope Yanagi goes alright... I know how she feels in comparison to Kita and me... Stay strong, Yanagi-chan._

Yanagi shot a quick glance behind her at Sora, who was rubbing his head. _I can't believe how worried I was about you last night, you moron. I had to look after you and Kita yesterday and even had to dig the shelter out of the mud from the rain... I don't know how either of you can take this sort of thing._ She paused as a feeling of nervousness took over. _When we get back... then the second part of the exam will start, where they'll probably match us up against each other..._ Yanagi's hands clenched tightly. _How? How am I supposed to be able to fight against all these people? There's no way I'd be able to beat someone like Sora... let alone Kita... she's in a totally different class... just like that Gaara guy, and Araiki. And those clone girls- they're monsters. I'm still too young and inexperienced... to even think about winning against people like that... _Secretly, Yanagi blinked back tears.

Something was bothering Kita. _Nibi, are you there?_

_Barely, I suppose. _

Kita looked down at her hands and flexed them. Before, they had just been naught but an ambiguous illusion- now they were real. _It's because my chakra converted, right? _She didn't wait for an answer. _I'm worried about this exam... _

_And pray tell why you are so worried, nyan? _Kita was sure Nibi was mocking her, but decided to let it rest.

_All these people we've seen. I can't believe that they exist. _

_You expected this to be more civil? _

_Maybe... _

Nibi laughed. _I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who would wonder why _you_ exist. Did you even think of that? _

_... I guess not. _

_So why be worried, nyan? _

If Kita still had her cat-ears, they would have drooped. _But what if I have to fight Sora or Yanagi? _

_What if you have to fight Shukaku or Houkou? _Nibi mused.

_I won't be fighting them, Nibi..._ Kita corrected it._ I'd be fighting Gaara or Araiki. _

_Maybe not them personally, but in spirit all the same. _Nibi sniffed. There was a slight pause before its voice became more reassuring. _You shouldn't have to worry, Kit. I've trained you far too much to see you lose. _

Kita's expression slowly turned into one of a grateful smile. _Thank you, Nibi... _

_And if you do start to lose, you could always just send them to hell._

_Nibi... _

_I know... I haven't exactly taught you how to do that yet, have I, nyan? _

Kita sighed.

* * *

**A few hours later...**

"So these are the teams that managed to survive?" Jouryoku mused to himself, looking out over the village wall to the grass field. He saw rivulets in the grass as teams made their way back. One line disappeared completely into the vegetation. Jouryoku smirked. "Ironic... I guess that team forgot about the traps my people had set earlier this week..."

"Daddy!" called a group of shrill voices from below.

Jouryoku looked down and waved to his three daughters as they entered the gate. The trio handed the examiners a small sack of scrolls, then started giggling and ran up to join their father on the wall.

"My girls! I'm glad you're alright," smiled the Grass Leader. "You went well, I presume?"

"Yes, Daddy," Masakari, Hanbiraki and Tsubomi grinned.

"I'm very proud then. Now, why don't you go home and get tidied up a bit?" Jouryoku suggested before faltering. The girls had their hands out.

"Daddy," said Masakari with a pout. "Your promise, remember? About '_taking out the trash_'?"

The girls' father raised his eyebrows. "Ah, of course." He took out his wallet.

The wallet was immediately snatched out of his hand. "Thank you, Daddy!" yelled the trio as they ran off.

Jouryoku sighed, then turned back to watch the incoming teams.

* * *

Rosuto and Rein were leaning up against the wall of a building a few metres away from the gate. They noticed the daughters of the Grass Leader run past. 

"Rein-chan..." Rosuto murmured to her.

The woman turned and gave him a small frown. "Don't be so worried, Rosuto. I'm sure our teams went through fine."

The other jounin looked down at his hitae-ate, which for once was not tied on his head. He stared at the Stone symbol for a few seconds. "I guess I can't help but be worried. They're my kids in a way. I've watched them grow up, I've trained them as hard as I can, and I've always tried to be there for them. This is one of the first times they've had to face something by themselves."

"You forgot that weird missing-nin from the Cloud. They managed to take care of him just fine I believe." Rein glanced sideways at the older man.

A group of genin just coming back from the exam walked past. One boy in particular with blond hair and green/gold eyes paused for a brief second before moving on.

"That's just the thing," Rosuto lowered his voice, his eyes following the back of the genin. "They didn't... It was the Nekomata who saved Sora and Yanagi, after the guy had killed Kita."

The purple-haired woman crossed her arms. "Well, it's all in the past now, isn't it? It's been a year since that incident, and the kids learn fast. It's not like they're stupid. They wouldn't have gone rushing into anything without first analysing the situation."

Rosuto gave a crooked smile. "You always know how to make someone feel so sure, yet insecure at the same time, Rein-chan."

Rein gave a sly smile in return. "What do you rather then, Rosuto- winning a million dollars, or getting hit on the lips with a dead gopher while you sleep?"

"Uh..." Rosuto raised an eyebrow awkwardly. "The million dollars?"

"Well, too bad, you didn't win that." Rein laughed and turned her attention away.

_That's the kind of question that will keep me up at night..._ thought a worried Rosuto.

* * *

A grey-haired jounin twirled a kunai on his finger before replacing it into his side-holster. With his one visible eye, he looked down beside him where a teenaged chuunin was staring up at the clouds. The man chuckled internally, always amused by the lazy youth's hair which resembled a pineapple.

"Shikamaru-kun," said the jounin to get the boy's attention.

"Eh?" Shikamaru blinked tiredly, coming out of his daydreams. "How troublesome, I was just getting to the good part too. What is it, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi gave a hidden smile- the boy was always just 'getting to the good part'. "I was wondering what your opinion is on this first part of the exam? Especially on the outcomes of the teams that have entered. I'm sure you gave all the teams a good look-over while you were here."

"Out of boredom mostly," Shikamaru grumbled. He sighed and started to explain. "Compared to last year's entrants, although there is a drop in numbers, the overall quality seems to be of a high standard. For example, Suna sent only the Sand Siblings. I am doubtless that they will pass this part of the exam."

"Apparently you are correct." Kakashi nodded his head towards the gate, where Gaara and his two siblings were passing through.

Temari exchanged a glance with Shikamaru as she walked past, though they just as quickly looked away.

The spikey-haired teen cleared his throat after they had gone and continued his explanation. "I'm not entirely sure about how our teams will fare though."

"And how is that?" asked the older jounin.

"For one, this is the first time Sakura and Ino have had to work together for a common goal, and forced to work together at that. Naturally, the tension between those two is scary... women are so troublesome..." Shikamaru shrugged.

Kakashi gave a hidden smile once more. "Anyone in Konoha could have made that presumption. Ino-chan is jealous at Sakura for being accepted as Tsunade-sama's student; and Sakura has always wanted to prove her strength to Ino-chan and gain her acknowledgement."

The chuunin shrugged again.

Kakashi took a quick sweep of the area, taking in all the people waiting. As he looked around, high-pitched giggles erupted from above and three similar-looking girls with burgundy hair ran past after jumping off the top of the wall. Jouryoku was up there, looking both relieved and troubled. Leaning up against a building not too far away were two jounin from the Stone that Kakashi remembered from the welcome speech at the start of the exam. The two were talking, though they seemed to become more conscious as a trio of Cloud genin walked past- one of which paused for the briefest of moments before moving on. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

Shikamaru glanced over at the other ninja by the building, then back at Kakashi.

"Shikamaru-kun, do you know _why_ they allowed villages such as the Stone and Cloud to enter this year?" he asked. The tone of his voice indicated he already knew though.

The younger ninja frowned for a second, but decided to humour him. "The villages from last year were afraid of a repeat of the Konoha incident. They wanted more entrants this year so then alliances would be unable to form. Because... even if one village were to form some kind of alliance in a plot against another country, they would come under heavy opposition here. They say they're doing this to promote alliances, but all they're doing is preventing them... Is that what you were thinking, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm," the grey-haired jounin nodded. "Very good analysis."

The female jounin from the Stone laughed, catching Shikamaru's attention again. "It would be hard for the Leaf to ever form an alliance with the Stone, or even the Cloud because of our past histories with them."

Kakashi, for once, seemed saddened by those words. His one visible eye turned up into a smile after a moment. "Maybe one day we will be able to form solid alliances with all the countries, not just fake ones that have no real meaning."

"We'd need a good Hokage for that," yawned Shikamaru, going back to cloud-watching. "Tsunade-sama seems to scare everyone within fifty miles away from her."

* * *

**In a gambling den not too far away... **

_ACHOO!_

"Winner!"

"Oh crap."

* * *

**Team Omega...**

"Phew, good thing those guys set off that trap before we came to it..." laughed Sora as he, Yanagi and Kita exited the grass and started to climb up the short hill to the gate.

"You're telling me," Yanagi sighed tiredly. The grass behind them rustled.

"Sora-kun!" cried a shrill voice, accompanied by a pink blur. Yume grabbed Sora's hands together. "I'm so glad you made it!" She glanced over at Yanagi and Kita. "And you guys too, of course."

Kita gave a small expression of disgust at the girl; Yanagi looked outraged at her.

Tansei and Jieichou followed up behind with disgruntled faces.

"You shouldn't have run, Yume. There might have been more traps," Jieichou said.

"As long as Sora-kun is around, I'll be fine! Right?" She gave Sora great big pink puppy-dog eyes.

"Uh, yeah..." replied Sora, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Let's just get over to the gate and get this over with." He tried to get away from Yume by walking away, but the blonde was clinging to his arm. Even without his psychic powers, Sora was feeling ill at the thought of what was going through the girl's mind.

Kita patted Yanagi on the shoulder in an attempt to keep her calm.

"What?" The black haired girl whipped her head around at her team mate, seeming ready to bite her hand off.

"Oh, um, nothing," Kita walked a little faster. _Erg... this will probably not end up well._

The chuunin at the gate checked his list as the two Stone teams walked up. "Alright, that's done. I need to see your scrolls now please- two each."

"Kita, you got our scrolls?" asked Sora, ignoring the blonde and pink creature stuck to his arm.

"Yeah." Kita opened her backpack then froze up. "What... wha... these aren't our scrolls..." She hurriedly turned her pack inside-out and a stack of plain scrolls with nothing written on them fell out.

"What happened to our scrolls?" exclaimed Yanagi, getting on her hands and knees to search through the scrolls as well.

Kita slammed her fist on the ground. "Damn it! Those Snow-bastards must have swapped them while I was out cold on the ground! Damn it! As soon as I know how, I'll send them straight to hell!" The other Stone genin shot her slightly nervous looks.

The Grass chuunin scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I'm sorry Mitsukai-chan, but I cannot allow you to pass this part of the exam without having at least two scrolls each."

Four scrolls dropped onto the ground infront of Kita. The girl looked up to see Tansei crossing his arms. "Here, we have a few extra. One of you won't be able to enter though."

There was a minute of silence as it sunk in.

"I'll do it," Yanagi announced quietly.

"But... Yanagi..." Kita started. "You-"

"No." The other girl cut her off, shaking her head. "It's fine. I'll just enter next time, okay? Because... compared to you guys, I've still got a lot of training to do. Next time, I'll be a lot stronger and more confident."

"So, what'll it be?" asked the Grass Chuunin, looking a little bothered.

Kita gave Yanagi one more look, filled with worry. The girl gave a solitary nod. Kita turned back to the chuunin and put the four scrolls on the table. "Kigaino Sora and Mitsukai Kita from Team Omega, Iwakagure... are entering the second part of the exam."

The chuunin filled out some forms and handed them over. "Alright, keep these on you so that you can enter next time. And good luck."

"Thanks..." Kita replied quietly.

The trio waited a second for Team Delta to get their forms before walking through the gate.

"Rein-sensei! Rein-sensei!" exclaimed Yume, finally letting go of a relieved Sora's arm and running over to her teacher.

"Very good, you guys. I'm so proud of you," Rein smiled at her team and patted Yume on the head. The girl bounced up and down excitedly.

"Yanagi..." Rosuto whispered, placing both his hands on the girl's shoulders. Yanagi looked downcast. Rosuto smiled sincerely. "You did a very brave and selfless deed just then. The ability to know your limits and know when you cannot face something is one of the most important traits a ninja can have. Next time, I'm sure you'll end up being one of the strongest here."

Yanagi wiped at her eyes which had tears forming in them. "Thank you, Rosuto-sensei..."

Kita watched the two carefully and smiled. Rosuto really was one of the best teachers she'd ever seen.

"Well!" Rein clapped her hands together. "I think this calls for a celebration, right? Rosuto's going to take us all out for the best sushi in Kusagakure! Aren't you, my darling?"

Rosuto's eye twitched as he still had his hands on Yanagi's shoulder.

"Are you okay, Rosuto-sensei?" asked Yanagi.

Rosuto's head dropped and he sighed. "No, I'm fine."

Behind the man's back, Rein smirked and gave her team a V sign. "Wonderful, let's go find Hana-chan then and drop by to tell the good news to Benkeino-sama!"

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, hope you liked that!

**Until next time! Leave a review! **


	27. This Feeling

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Lucky people :P

**Questions: **

**Q- How come Kakashi is in the Grass and there's no sight of Gai, Kurenai nor Asuma? **

**A- **To be honest, I have no idea... I wanted to keep it a bit minimal when it came to Konoha's part. Let's just say they all had other missions to attend to :3

**Questions for the characters!**

**Q- Yanagi, are you disappointed that you won't be able to fight Yume now?**

**Yanagi- -**sigh- I suppose so... but I'll just have to hope Kita can kick her butt for me now!

**Q- Sora, why is it that you don't like Yume clinging to you? I thought you'd be glad there's a girl chasing after you. **

**Sora- **If it was Yanagi doing it, I'd be over the moon! But frankly, Yume scares the heck out of me with that pink thing of hers...

* * *

**_Chapter 27: This Feeling... _**

**That night... **

"Seriously... your dad bought you _this_?" Yanagi looked Kita up and down with a bizarre look on her face.

Kita laughed. "Yeah, well, I think it's cute... though I sometimes tend to think he has a bad sense of humour." She turned to look it over- a lavender kimono with, ironically enough, plum-coloured cat paws down the side.

Yanagi put her hands on her hips. "It suits I suppose, Kitty... anyway, we should get your hair fixed up. It's completely ruined from that fight."

"Thanks," sighed Kita, letting Yanagi tie her hair into a high ponytail and fixing her fringe.

"I don't think I've ever seen you dressed up like this before," Yanagi giggled.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Kita indignantly.

"Oh, nothing... You should just dress up more often, that's all." The black-haired girl shrugged and stuck her tongue out. "Let's get going and meet up with Sora and Hana. Hopefully she's fixed Sora's noggin up by now. Or else we won't know the way to the restaurant Rein-sensei told us to go to."

* * *

**A few minutes later outside the inn...**

_Yanagi-chan!_

Yanagi turned around to receive a large grin from Sora. "Cut that out," she frowned.

"But you look so pretty tonight!" exclaimed Sora, noticing the dark blue kimono with white flowers she was wearing. "Not that you look any less pretty any other time!" he added.

Yanagi hid an embarrassed blush from him.

Kita took a few steps over to Hana and smiled. "You got him fixed up, I take it?"

Hana nodded, pulling down the sleeves of her forest green kimono decorated with lighter green leaves. "It was kinda hard for me to heal, but I got it done in the end! Thankfully there was no internal damage." She smiled proudly. "Bara-sensei will be really happy when I get back and tell her!"

"So, you guys ready to go then?" asked Rosuto, appearing next to them.

"Rosuto-sensei! You're still wearing your jounin stuff!" Yanagi's blush disappeared as she started to criticise him. "Even Sora got dressed up!" She pointed at the boy wearing a crisp white shirt and black pants. He wiggled his fingers in a wave back at her happily. Yanagi sighed.

"A jounin always has to be prepared for trouble," Rosuto replied, slightly offended. "I'm sure Rein-chan will still be wearing hers too."

* * *

**Later...**

"Whaaaa?" Rosuto's jaw dropped as they approached the restaurant. Rein was wearing a black kimono with the front open enough to make any male blush. She blew a kiss at him and smirked. Rosuto turned around to his team. "I'll be right back!" In a puff of smoke, he was gone, only to appear a few seconds later wearing a red shirt under a stylish navy jacket with matching pants.

Yanagi's eyebrow twitched, but decided not to say anything.

"Sora-kun!" Yume ran over to the blue-haired boy and twirled around. "Do you like my kimono?" As predicted, it was hot pink with a gold dragon sewn around the arms and hem.

"Uh, yes, it's nice." Sora gave a fake smile.

"I'm so glad!" Yume clapped her hands together. "Come on then, let's go in! Jieichou and Tansei are already inside!" She proceeded to drag him along.

When they entered and were seated, they discovered the worst- the seating arrangements were a nightmare... Rosuto sighed as he looked up the other end of the table to Rein.

_So close, yet so far..._ he thought. He cried internally.

_I'm in hell!_ Sora felt like bashing his head onto the table in the hopes of passing out. He was placed between Yume and Tansei. One kept clinging to his arm, and the other kept giving him strange looks like he was hogging all the women in the house.

_This is sooo not cool..._ thought Yanagi, glaring at Yume from across the table. She kicked her foot out.

"Ow!" yelped Sora looking around the restaurant, including on the ceiling. "What was that?"

Yanagi gave him a death-stare for a minute before going back to glaring at Yume.

_Why am I sitting here?_ wondered Kita, looking beside her to Jieichou and then diagonally to Rein. _I hardly know either of these two! _

Hana looked nervously at Tansei beside her. _I don't think I like it here..._

* * *

**Later...**

Kita felt like stabbing her chopsticks into the sushi on the plate before her, and not only because she hated fish. Rein-sensei had been asking some rather strange questions about what she had done while she was away. Hana had been silent all evening, too afraid to talk with Tansei beside her. Rosuto had been staring woefully at Rein, hoping she would notice him more. Yanagi was still glaring at Yume while the girl tried to eat her sushi and talk to Sora at the same time, resulting in her somehow getting wasabi all over his shirt. Tansei kept shooting bizarre looks at Yume and Sora, and Jieichou seemed uninterested in talking to anybody.

Kita sighed and glanced outside to the street where the foot traffic was starting to wear down as people began to go back home. Suddenly, Kita dropped her chopsticks, thinking she saw a familiar flash of rusty-red hair. She stood up and bowed to everyone. "Please excuse me!" She ran over to the door and put her sandals on before running outside.

"Huh?" blinked Rosuto. "Kita!" he yelled, but she was already gone.

* * *

_I thought I saw him go up this way..._ Kita ran up the alleyway. "Gaara!" She called, hoping he was around. As she ran, she tripped over a piece of garbage in the alley in her flimsy sandals. 

A jet of sand shot up from the ground and caught her around the arms, gently lowering her to the ground.

Kita looked up and saw Gaara standing before her. There was a hint of concern on his otherwise calm face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, offering her a hand.

She smiled at him and took his hand. "I am now, thank you."

He scanned Kita in her kimono up and down for a second. "You look..." He paused, taking a second to think. "Your cat ears are gone."

"Oh," Kita's smile faded a little. "Yeah... I was finally able to..." She trailed off, feeling embarrassed. "Uh, Gaara, do you think we could move out of this alley?" Kita asked. "It'd be nice to sit on the roof again, like last time."

"Okay..." The red-haired boy called for a cloud of sand to rise up beneath the two and carry them up onto the highest roof nearby. As the sand disappeared back into his gourd, he stared up at the moon. After a few minutes of silence, he talked. "Did you find that person?" he asked.

Kita felt a little disappointment at the mention of business- she had been hoping they could sit together for a while without saying anything... just like old times. Lately, it seemed like he was even _more _distant than before, if that was possible.

"Yes," she finally answered. "His name is Genno Araiki, vessel of the Gobi, Houkou..."

"Another one has appeared then..." Gaara closed his eyes peacefully, thinking things over in his head. "What is he like?" he asked quietly.

Kita tapped her finger to her chin as she thought for a moment. "I suppose... he's a lot like us..."

Gaara gave the barest of nods before silence set in again.

Kita gazed up at the waning moon. It had been getting smaller and smaller every night since they had arrived... Kita wondered if there was any more meaning to it than that? As she stared up, she suddenly felt exhausted from the day's, and week's, work. Her eyes drooped slowly.

"You know... This week... has been a very long day..." she whispered drowzily, gently nodding off to sleep and falling to rest against Gaara's shoulder.

The red-haired boy glanced across at her in mild shock. He began to draw his hand up towards her cheek- he let his hand drop though, remembering something from a long time ago...

_Although it doesn't bleed, this part hurts so much... _

_...emotional scars... they are the hardest to heal... _

_Emotional scars? _

_Physical and emotional scars are a little different... Unlike physical ones, there's no ointment available for emotional ones... and the pain may never go away... _

_There is only one thing that can stop such heartache... however, as convenient as it may seem, this cure can only be given by people other than yourself... _

_What is it? _

_It's love... _

* * *

**Suna... the day Kita left... **

"Are you sure you'll be alright, Kita?" asked Temari, giving the girl a worried look. "What about food?"

"She'll be fine, Sis." Kankuro crossed his arms. "She can catch her own food."

"Yeah," Kita nodded, "I'll be okay, no problems."

Temari gave her 'little sister' a crooked smile. "Okay then... now you look after yourself then."

"I will!" Kita grinned and waved as she ran over to Gaara who was standing away from them, staring out at the desert sands. "Gaara?"

The boy turned towards her with a slight questioning look on his face.

Kita smiled at him, feelings of gratitude filling her. "Thank you, Gaara, so very much..." Quickly, she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek before running off into the desert.

Gaara's eyes widened... had she just...? He held up a hand to his cheek.

* * *

_Love..._ Gaara thought. _Is this truly what it feels like?_

Kita snuggled up closer into his arm.

_But... is it love like that of between a brother and sister... or more? _He stared back up at the moon, contemplating. The concept of 'Love' was something so alien to him...

* * *

**The next morning...**

Kita frowned... someone... some_ones_ were poking her.

"Come on, Kita! Get up!" Yanagi and Hana were poking at Kita.

"I'm awake, I'm awake..." The silver-haired girl sat up, rubbing at where her team mates had been poking. She looked around. "Huh... how'd I get here?" She noticed she was still in her kimono from last night. _Gaara..._ she thought quickly.

"That's what we'd like to know!" questioned Yanagi, towering over her with crossed arms.

"I was worried when you ran out of the restaurant like that!" Hana exclaimed.

Kita gave a cat-like yawn and stretched... old habits died hard. "I was just... visiting a friend. It's okay."

Yanagi raised an eyebrow. "Sure... anyway, get dressed; you've got the next part of the exam to go to today!"

"I hope you don't end up fighting someone from our teams," said Hana nervously. "That'd be terrible!"

"I hope you end up fighting Yume! You can kick her butt for me! That air headed, irritating, stupid pink..." she trailed off, grumbling all manner of things.

Kita gave a crooked smile... it was so obvious Yanagi liked Sora. "Anyway, I'm hoping to get matched with one of those Grass Sisters... I still have a debt to repay them." She tightened her hand into a fist. "I know exactly what I'm going to do when I see them, though it will require something else."

"What's that, Kita?" asked Hana confusedly.

"I'll definitely need more speed and acrobatics than in this form. One slip in balance and it could be over. Besides, people would be suspicious if I came to the exam in one way and came out another." She held her hands together and concentrated her chakra. The blue flames around her slowly became silver as her ears changed into cat ones. "Okay, I'm ready," she announced, staring at her hand as it balled into a fist.

* * *

**The Chuunin Exam- Part Two: The Sixth Day... **

Rosuto bounced his wallet up and down, feeling the lightness of it. "How horrible... I didn't think Rein-chan could eat that much sushi..."

"Ah, the things one will do for love!" Benkeino clapped a large hand on Rosuto's shoulder from behind. "I remember the stupid things I did for the wife when I was younger. I once spent two moths' pay buying the biggest bouquet of flowers in the village for her." He laughed heartily. "But it worked though; we got married a few months later."

"But still..." sighed Rosuto. "That woman will be the death of me."

"Just be glad _I_ didn't come for dinner last night, Rosuto." The Tsuchikage laughed again. He suddenly became serious. "Better round the kids up and get them along to the main building. Jouryoku isn't the kind to wait, especially when it comes to showing off in front of the other villages. His two top teams made it through completely."

"Six genin... that makes him the holder of the majority of players, right?" asked Rosuto.

Benkeino nodded. "From what I understand at least- we'll get the correct numbers when we go there. I must say I am glad that Konoha didn't get the majority either though after all the boasting from last year's success. However... what I am most concerned about are these other teams from the Sand and Snow, and the Cloud to an extent. Apparently that missing-nin your team took down last year was the ex-sensei of the team that is here this year."

"Hm, an interesting twist of fate..." Rosuto commented, remembering the boy that had paused briefly the day before. Was it possible he had heard?

"Then there is also the matter of what Tansei told me about one of the scrolls his team had found early on in the exam, one that had the barest of information possible." Benkeino folded his arms and leaned against the building wall. He gave Rosuto a suspicious look. "A scroll from the one of the Grass, no less..."

"But... that would mean..."

The older man nodded. "That perhaps the Grass has been taking backdoors in this exam to give advantage to its own genin? Perhaps... though, maybe the information on that scroll was left out for a reason... just like we gave outdated information on Kita."

Rosuto's features twitched in question. "Outdated?"

"The results processed from our first assessments when the kids were still back at the academy." Benkeino shrugged casually. "We had other assessments, of course, but I felt it wasn't necessary for Kita to be in the same kind of position as that Sabaku no Gaara from Suna."

"Probably the best thing you could have done, Tsuchikage-sama," replied Rosuto, wondering deep down if it truly was.

The door next to them slid open and Team Omega walked out, with the girls chatting and Sora still munching away on a piece of toast.

"Rhoshuto-shenshei!" Sora gulped down the toast in his mouth. "Rosuto-sensei, we're ready to go!"

"Alright then, Kita, Sora, you follow me." Rosuto waved his hand. "Yanagi and Hana, go with Tsuchikage-sama. If Sora and Kita pass the preliminary fight round, then you'll probably see them at the secondary fights at the stadium."

"Come on girls; let's go get some snacks to eat during the big fights." Benkeino chuckled. "I heard they can go a while, and I can't just sit around with an empty stomach. We might get some ice cream too."

"Ew, ice cream?" asked Yanagi as the groups started to go their separate ways. "No thanks, Tsuchikage-sama..."

"Hey now, I thought all kids liked ice cream!" retorted Benkeino. "I'm so out of touch these days."

"You definitely are, Father," giggled Hana.

Kita blew some fringe out of her eyes and looked over at Sora. "You ready for this?"

"I suppose..." responded the blue-haired boy, his dark orange eyes nervous. "I'm just hoping I won't get stuck fighting you."

"Yeah," Kita gave him a wicked smile. "I'd definitely own you if we did."

"Don't make me even more nervous! It's bad enough as it is!" cried Sora.

"Kita, Sora," Rosuto said, getting their attention. The two children glanced behind them to their teacher who looked stern. "The thing you most have to remember about this part of the exam is that you will only have yourself to rely upon. Nobody is going to step in until things either are finished or the situation becomes too dangerous. But even then, sometimes that help won't come until too late. So, if you feel things are getting to be too much, just raise your hand and throw the towel in, okay?"

"Okay," nodded Sora.

Kita glanced away.

"Kita?" asked Rosuto, expecting an answer.

"Rosuto-sensei... I'll be fine," she replied, not looking back at him. "I can't just quit so easily on something like this."

The jounin gave her a worried expression. _It's because she knows that if she goes back to the village, the people there won't be as accepting of her if they know she didn't fight her hardest for the village. _

Kita heard a dark chuckling in the back of her mind. _Nibi? What's up? _

The chuckling stopped. _I guess today is going to be an exciting day for both you and me. _

_Well I hope you enjoy it at least... _

_Oh, I will... I'm sure of that. _Nibi smirked internally.

* * *

**A/N: **It seems a lot of you voted for Kita x Araiki... hm... and some with good reasons too... 

Oh! Oh! That's what I keep forgetting! Theeeeme songs! I've been meaning to do this for a little while, but anyway!

Opening theme: No Regret Life - Ano Hi no Mirai

Closing theme: Utada Hikaru – Believe in Love

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, so please leave a review, and 'til next time! **


	28. Preliminary

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Now you're doubly lucky! Heheh, now you get to see the pairing results! Oh, and some questions that have been asked will be answered within the story, so please don't get worried if you don't see your question up! But apart from that, some good questions this time... except there's way too many. Sorry if I missed any!

**Questions: **

**Q- You really have a great story here. Have you ever thought of working on a comic with some of your friends on deviantart? **

**A- **It'd be awesome to put this into comic-form, but unfortunately I'm too busy for that kind of stuff, and I've already got a bunch of commitments, like art commissions and that. Edit for those just reading, I DID do a small test page, though it could have been better I suppose. It's on my devART site somewhere...

**Questions for the characters!**

**Q-** **Tansei, do you like Yume? I know you do, admit it!**

**Tansei-** She's a team mate, that's all. I just wish she wouldn't hug Sora so much. What's he got that I don't, huh?

**Q- Rosuto, is Rein worth trying to get close too? **

**Rosuto- **Of course she's worth it! She's the most beautiful woman in the world to me! It was love at first sight! ... damn, I'm starting to sound like Sora...

**Q- Yume, what do you think of Tansei? How would you react if he liked you more than a team mate? **

**Yume-** But Sora's the only one for me! Sure Tansei is pretty hot, but he can be such an ego-head sometimes. If he said he liked me though, I wouldn't be surprised. Lots of guys like me!

* * *

**_Chapter 28: Preliminary _**

**At the Kusa-Nin Main Building... **

"Daddy!" cried Jouryoku's daughters.

"Yes sweeties?" asked the Grass Leader, wondering what was bothering the trio this time. They were standing in the small platform above the bottom floor, which had been renovated to become like a small indoor stadium. However, only officials and teachers would be able to observe these matches- the main event would be the time for these genin to really shine.

"Daddy!" came the cry again.

"Do we have to fight individually?" asked Masakari.

"Yeah, I don't want to have to fight by myself!" agreed Hanbiraki.

"It's not fair!" whimpered Tsubomi.

All three displayed their best puppy-eye expressions.

Jouryoku waved his arms. "I wish I could let you, girls, but rules are rules! I'm sure you can do it even without each other!"

"But Daddy!"

"Now, now, it's fine! You three just get on down to the ground floor and it'll be over before you know it, with all of you winners!" Jouryoku hated it when they gave him those looks... they were just so darn cute...

"If we lose, Daddy, it's all your fault and we'll never love you again!" The three girls' puppy-eyes turned into glares that could strip paint as they jumped down onto the ground floor.

Jouryoku also hated those looks... but now wasn't the time to worry. The genin were starting to assemble.

* * *

**At the building entrance... **

"Kigaino Sora and... Mitsukai Kita, okay then!" chirped the receptionist, looking over the papers handed to her. "Just go on in through those doors and wait with the others. Jouryoku-sama will commence the rounds soon."

"Thank you," nodded Rosuto, hustling for Kita and Sora to get inside. When he was sure the two would be okay he put his hands on their shoulders. "Good luck, okay? Make the Stone proud." With that, he leapt up into the seating area, giving them thumbs up.

"Oh, so you guys made it. We were beginning to think you'd slept in," smirked Tansei.

Yume finished waving to Rein and leapt onto Sora's arm. "Sora-kun! Sora-kun! Good luck! I'll fight my hardest! And I'll be fighting for you if you get knocked out!"

"Uh... that's nice..." Sora gave Kita a look of needing desperate help.

Kita returned with a shrug and confused look.

"Kita-chan?" asked Jieichou suddenly, approaching her.

Kita blinked. This was probably the first time the boy had actually spoken to her directly. "Uh, yes?"

"You seem to have a fair idea of who some of these people are. Perhaps you could help me identify them?" The grey-haired boy glanced around the room.

"Um, I suppose so... but why do you want to know?" asked the cat-eared girl suspiciously.

"Remember what we talked about that night during the first part of the exam- about how information is important?" One of his eyebrows raised slightly. "Expanding our knowledge on these entrants would aid our group when it comes to the fights."

"I would like to know a bit as well," added Tansei, crossing his arms. "Which of these weirdoes can I take down in a second?"

Yume let go of Sora for a moment to look over, before grabbing him again and dragging him too.

"Oh, well..." Kita felt a little nervous with them staring at her and waiting to see what she had to say. She pointed over to the closest group, five genin from Konoha. "I've only seen the guy with the white eyes and the girl with the buns before. I'm not sure what happened to their team mate... but the guy has some kind of doujutsu that allows him to see through things. The girl seems to be some kind of weapons expert. Those three; the dark-haired girl, the jacket-guy, and the dog-guy I've never seen before..."

* * *

**The Konoha Teams... **

"Ha, that's just like Lee..." snorted Kiba. "Getting himself in way too deep."

"Gai-sensei did forewarn him of not aggravating his injuries, did he not?" asked Shino, pushing his sunglasses up his nose a little more.

"Tsunade-sama was having a fit over it when I brought him in," sighed Tenten. "That was after she was done yelling at Ino and Sakura for not getting along and failing to get more than one scroll... I thought she was going to punch both of them through the door when I came in."

"Poor Lee-kun..." Hinata said worriedly. "I hope he didn't injure himself too badly."

"He'll be fine, Hinata," Kiba grinned widley. "Nothing can keep that guy down. You'll probably see him at the stadium after we're done here. I bet he's sitting with Chouji right now and spouting on about how he won't let his 'Fires of Youth' burn out or something."

Neji frowned, noticing someone pointing in their direction. _The cat-eared girl that took Sakura's scroll is here as well. It'll be interesting to watch her fight... _

* * *

"That guy and girl with the similar eyes must be from the Hyuuga bloodline," said Tansei. "I've heard about them from uncle. I think he said something about them knowing taijutsu that could kill with one strike."

"That sounds scary!" squeaked Yume, clinging onto Sora tighter. The boy cringed.

"Next team." Kits changed her direction over to the genin from Kumo. "Hm, I've never seen them before either really... better move on then."

"Kumo nin are known for their proficiency at electric-based jutsu," interrupted Jieichou. "But I know little else I'm afraid."

* * *

**Team Gold... **

"Are you sure that's what you heard?" asked Mikomi, puzzled.

"I'm sure," nodded Uteki, his green and gold-flecked eyes intense. "Those two that just came in with that male jounin from the Stone- they killed Hasaki-sensei. I'm sure that's what I overheard when I walked past yesterday."

"You know you can't be positive about something like that," shrugged Rei, juggling his spinning top in one hand.

"I _am_ positive, Rei," growled the blonde-haired boy. "And I'm going to get a confession too, just you wait and see."

* * *

"The Grass Sisters..." Kita spat as she spotted them. "They may look like innocent little angels, but give them even a second and they'll tear you apart."

"'Tear apart'? With what?" asked Yume.

"I'm not exactly sure, but when I found those Mist nin, they seemed to have been ripped apart with thorns." Kita glared at their backs, hoping to burn holes in them.

"I heard a rumour that the Grass examiners cleaning up discovered a number of remains around the field yesterday afternoon- all in the same condition," commented Jieichou uneasily. "But nothing more has been heard or done apart from that..."

"I smell a cover-up." Tansei frowned at the Grass Sisters as well.

"Let's just move on... I can't even stand looking at them." Kita moved onto Team G2's direction. "Um..." She paused, wondering what to say about Araiki.

"I recognise that guy with the brown hair, Genno Araiki, right?" asked Jieichou. "Our mystery-man from the scroll- know anything about him?"

Kita shook her head quickly. "No, sorry, I only know as much as you do." She pointed to the next team.

* * *

**Team G2... **

"Are you glad Kita-chan made it, Araiki?" asked Rindou, checking her tulip-shaped earrings before popping them on.

The shaggy-haired boy looked over at her and felt a slight blush. "Uh, yeah."

"Araiki, it's obvious you like that girl." Shuuki smirked, putting on a deeper voice. "Now what you wanna do is listen to me- I know _all_ there is about women."

Rindou appeared next to him and bapped him over the back of the head. "You're not the 'Love Doctor', Shuuki. Geez, you barely even know a thing about women."

"Hey, you liked those earrings I bought you!" retorted the boy with the damaged ego.

"Shuuki... you didn't _buy_ them... I already owned them. You just found them one day when I left them behind during class. And even then I had to trade my lunch for them." Rindou glared at him.

"Aw man, you're so unfair to me!" Shuuki whined, throwing his hands up into the air.

Araiki felt like laughing at them, but his nervousness prevented him from doing so. Kita was also near... he wondered if he would get time to talk to her later...

_Heheh... this _will_ be an interesting tournament... _Houkou mused. _Three bijuu in the same room... I wonder which of us has the strongest human? _

* * *

"What do you think happened to that last member of that Snow team?" asked Yume as Kita pointed to the team.

"I'm not sure..." Kita frowned. "Maybe I wounded him worse than I thought when I fought him."

"I sure hope you did," Sora growled.

"Well, it doesn't matter now," Tansei grumbled. "Just tell us who they are."

"I don't know what their names are. I only ever heard Hyouden's. All I know is that that little girl is very dangerous. She has some kind of weapon that launches giant kunai. Combined with that snowstorm, I was almost dead meat."

"She'll definitely be another to watch out for then," Jieichou nodded. "Alright... last team."

* * *

**Team Avalanche... **

"I'm worried about Hyouden-san, Maboroshi-kun." Kasukako tightened her fist as she stared at it. "The hospital said his injuries were pretty bad."

"Yeah," agreed the older boy. "He seemed fine two days ago, but coming back yesterday... when he coughed up that blood, I thought he wasn't going to make it."

"That Mitsukai Kita," Kasukako said the name like it was a curse, "I hope she gets turned into a bloody pulp during this. And if I have to face her, she'll end up even worse than that. I'll send her to hell before I'm satisfied."

* * *

"Those are the Sand Siblings," said Tansei, interrupting a hesitant Kita (who was glad for it). "That Gaara guy was the one who helped cause that whole attack on Konoha last year apparently. His siblings aren't like him, but they're still ones to keep an eye out for."

"He scares me..." Yume whimpered, now clutching Sora's arm so tight that the boy thought she was going to pull it off. "I hope none of us have to fight him."

"Hmph, he couldn't be _that_ strong," Tansei sneered. "I heard he got beat up by some lone genin who was supposedly at the bottom of his grade."

_But you don't know the half of it..._ thought Kita, eyeing him.

* * *

**The Sand Siblings... **

"You didn't tell us what you were up to last night, bro." Kankuro cracked his fingers and massaged his neck. "Damn, I hate this early start," he grumbled. "Soon as we get out of the field, they push us straight into the stadium. Konoha had the right ideas when they did it last year."

Gaara wasn't listening, instead glimpsing across at Kita and then the one he presumed to be Genno Araiki.

"Gaara?" asked Temari, shifting her weight to lean on her fan. Her brother shot her a look. "Kankuro just asked what you were doing last night, that's all."

"I was... out with Kita..." he replied quietly.

Kankuro smirked.

"You know, she's pretty cute," Kankuro teased. "If she were a bit older, I'd definitely go out with her."

"Idiot," retorted Temari, pinching the white masses of bandages and feeling it twitch. "She's like your little sister, you wouldn't dare. I'm right, aren't I Gaara?"

Gaara looked away quickly and crossed his arms. "Whatever," he grunted.

Temari raised an eyebrow.

* * *

**Rein and Rosuto...**

"What I don't understand is why they're making the kids have to fight this early on." Rosuto leaned back in his chair, still keeping an eye on the two members of his team down below.

"Rosuto, it's obvious, isn't it?" Rein was checking her lipstick in a compact mirror. "This Jouryoku guy is treating this exam as if it were some kind of big survival test, or even a war."

Nearby, a few rows back, a Leaf jounin's only visible eye slid over to their direction.

"War?" asked Rosuto, a little stunned. "Isn't that a bit of a harsh term?"

"Not at all- this year the focus seems to be on stamina and smarts, whereas last year it was just about power. The Leaf really focussed on putting on a good show last year to bring more spectators to their village. They would have made quite a bit off of the tourist dollars, not to mention more requests in service for ninja. The Leaf winning that fight definitely put them in good light with the lords and other high-and-mighty people." Rein's eyes in the compact slid across so she could see behind her. The grey-haired ninja she had seen sneaking looks at them a few seconds ago was now burying his nose into a dirty book. She gave a 'humph' and clicked the compact closed.

"Anyway," she continued, "I don't think the Grass is all very focussed on money at the moment, despite being a smaller village. They seem to make an okay living off of the tourists in the first place."

"Benkeino-sama did say to me that Jouryoku was the kind to show off in front of others," Rosuto thought out loud. "Kusagakure has been seen as such an insignificant village for so long, the man must intend to use this as his trump card for recognition. Really makes you have to wonder what's so special about his genin. Though, I get the feeling he's holding the preliminaries in here as a kind of damage control in case they do fail."

"Looks like we'll just have to wait and find out." Rein shrugged and settled back into her chair. "Oh, and that reminds me- how exactly did you manage to get changed so quick last night? That was quite an amazing feat for a guy." She gave him a suspicious look.

Rosuto grinned and shrugged. "Hey, I just didn't want to get left behind. What's wrong with that?"

_Silly Rosuto, of course it was a henge, wasn't it?_ Rein thought, smirking.

The grey haired ninja raised an eyebrow before going back to reading 'Icha Icha Paradise'.

* * *

"Welcome, genin and spectators!" yelled Jouryoku, clapping his hands and grabbing the crowd's attention. "Congratulations on all those who passed the first part of the exam!" He waited a few more seconds for the whispering to stop.

Kita rubbed the side of her temples for a second. "Ow..."

"You okay, Kita?" whispered Sora, slowly wriggling his arm free of Yume while she was entranced by the speech.

"Uh, yeah," Kita responded as the pang faded away. "Just a headache, that's all. I must still be tired."

"Alright then..." mumbled Sora, turning back to the man speaking.

"This part of the exam will be even harder than the one you just came out of," Jouryoku continued. "There will be no running away this time either. Though I doubt any of you will want to do that, not with your reputations on the line now." He smirked. "I shall explain the second part of the exam now- the preliminary fights!"

The crowd seemed to be hanging off his every words; Jouryoku was loving it...

"These fights will consist of a one-on-one battle- you against a randomly chosen person. The winner will progress onto the third part of the exam which will follow a similar system. I'm sure most of you from Konoha's exam last year will recognise the system. So, without further delays..."

Jouryoku leaned over the banister to the chuunin below who were working on a computer that controlled a large screen on the side of the wall.

"Are we all done there?" he asked. The chuunin nodded and gave him the thumbs up. "Alright, turn the result board on!"

The screen flickered to life, revealing the pairings. Kita searched for her name and found it. Her mouth twitched into a smug smile. "Looks like luck's on my side."

* * *

**A/N: **Erm...yeah... sorry about the edit, but it's better now, no? 

**About the Names: **

I forgot about Rindou's and Shuuki's last names! Darn, not again!

**Ichidano Rindou- **A Branch of Bellflowers

**Akaaka Shuuki- **Bright Red Autumn Air

**Next chapter coming soon hopefully, so leave a review! **


	29. Match Point

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: IMPORTANT!** Okay, I'm sorry about being a little late with this. But I DO have a good reason this time! Since I was asked about making a comic, I decided to give you a little bit of a surprise and I made a small page. It's only an example, so it won't be continuing, but I thought it'd be nice just to give you an idea on how the characters look and that. The page is on my deviantart account, so just follow the link at the bottom of my profile page to get there. There is also a few other pictures of Kita in there if you look around. I hope you'll read it.

**Questions: **

**Q- If you could contain any Bijuu, which would it be and why?  
**

**A- **Hm... that's a toughie... so many of the bijuu scare me, though the Nekomata scares me the most. I'd have to say Houkou, though I wouldn't let the thing go on any 'destroy the environment' sprees.

**Questions for the characters! **

**Q-** **Kita: Are you nervous about your match? And do you hold any hidden feelings for Gaara? **

**Kita-** I'm not nervous at all, I can't wait for it. Uh... Gaara? Um... well, I suppose there is something between us. I... wish I could make him feel like he doesn't have to be lonely anymore.

**Q- Tenten: How exactly did Lee injure himself, again? **

**Tenten- **This is embarrassing, but after he had found a scroll, he did one of his stupid victory poses. He was so caught up in his 'Springtime of Youth' that he lost his balance and fell out of the tree and didn't land very well. Tsunade-sama will fix him up though, she's so amazing!

**Q- Sora: When Yanagi hit you on the head with her fan did Hana have to fix that too? **

**Sora- **Love heals all wounds! I forgive Yanagi for it. She's so cute when she's mad.

* * *

**_Chapter 29: Match Point _**

"Kigaino Sora from Iwa, and Akaaka Shuuki from Kusa! Please stay behind for your match!" The examiner waved his arm for attention. "And would the other participants please clear the area to the seating arranged above!"

Sora had twitched slightly at those words, slight panic taking over. "Why couldn't I have gone last?"

"Sora-kun! Win it for me!" cheered Yume as everyone went up to the seating above. She waved down at him wildly.

_I wish Yanagi was here to cheer me on... _Sora sighed woefully, taking position on the field. He looked across to Shuuki, who seemed confident after taking a few deep breaths.

The chuunin examiner raised his hand. "Match One: Sora vs Shuuki... begin!"

Immediately, Shuuki pulled out a pair of kunai and threw them straight at Sora. The blue-haired boy threw a pair of shuriken in return, deflecting them away.

"_Futon; Daitoppa_!" Shuuki yelled whilst Sora was busy with the kunai. A blast of wind erupted out of nowhere and across the room. Sora's eyes widened as the gale picked him up and threw him towards the back wall.

Quickly, he positioned himself with his feet to the wall. Sora covered his feet in chakra, creating a cushion as his feet hit the wall, letting him stick against it.

_Close one..._ Sora closed his eyes and wiped his forehead. Swiftly he let go of the wall as a line of shuriken came at him. The metal stars embedded themselves into the bricks, just where Sora had been milliseconds ago. Sora looked back at them and then back at Shuuki.

"Wha...?" exclaimed the sandy-haired boy, looking confused. "How'd you know they were coming when you weren't looking?"

"Let's just say I have a sixth sense about these sorts of things," Sora smirked, feeling more confident- a little lowering of the enemy's morale never hurt either.

"Stop joking and let's continue this!" Shuuki frowned, pulling a small golden ball out of his side-pouch. "_Kafun Bakudan_!" He lobbed it forwards at Sora, making the boy jump backwards.

It exploded on the floor, expelling... pollen? Sora tried to make out Shuuki's shape, but it had disappeared amongst the obscuring mist of pollen that made his nose itch.

_Whoa... what is this?! _Sora thought, wiping at his eyes. _It feels like my senses are on fire! If I can't depend on my eyes or even my sense of smell, I'll have to use my bloodline. But I don't want everyone to know... guess I'll have to be sneakier about it. I hate this though, so many distractions makes it hard for me to use it._

Sora focussed his 'sixth sense' to lock onto Shuuki's mind. The boy was a few metres to his right, just in reach of Sora's bloodline and about to kick. Sora ducked and the boy's foot sailed overhead.

He sprung back, catching Shuuki on the chin with a well-timed punch. The blonde boy back flipped and landed on his feet awkwardly. He started a chain of hand seals quickly.

"_Futon; Aori_!"

Another gust of air picked up, aimed at the pollen cloud where Sora was lost in. The cloud was blown backwards towards the wall, Sora still inside. Shuuki grinned- he was sure Sora wouldn't have seen the wall coming this time.

The blonde boy paused suddenly; the cloud was coming back at him... It had hit the wall and washed back like a wave. The thick yellow pollen drifted towards him, losing him, as well as most of the crowd. Observers held hands over their mouths and noses as they were bombarded by the mix.

"Shuuki, get rid of this jutsu!" yelled Jouryoku from the stands, shaking a fist wildly though it was obscured in the pollen's mist.

"It's ruining our hair!" wailed the Grass Sisters together from somewhere in the obscured seating area.

"Shuukiiii!" Rindou cried out, looking out over the railing.

There were no replies, instead the sound of a scuffle, then a yell.

"_Kanashibari no jutsu_!"

A loud thump resounded from the ground level, like something falling over.

Suddenly the jutsu fell away from the stands as the pollen began to settle on the ground. Three pollen-covered figures stood on the floor below. The examiner patted the mess off of himself, then rubbed his arm- something had hit him during the storm. He looked over to where the two other figures were, unrecognisable from the amount of filth on them. One of them was on the ground with the other with his arms on his knees, panting. The one standing shook the pollen off, revealing blue hair. Sora's orange eyes looked bloodshot, but victorious. 

"Winner, Kigaino Sora!" yelled the examiner, pausing to shake more pollen off. "Kankuro and Hyuuga Neji, please come down for your match! And could we get some people to quickly clean this mess up?"

Sora pumped his hand up into the air. He pulled his hitae-off and sneezed, making more pollen shake loose from his body. Nobody clapped, instead looking mostly angered by the out-of-control jutsu. Sora felt his victory pride float away and settle on the ground like the pollen.

Solemnly he made his way back to the stands. Behind him, a group of chuunin swiftly swept the floors clear of pollen. Kita's right ear flickered irritably as Sora approached, shaking some pollen from her fur. Sora scratched the back of his neck.

"That could have gone better... Though I was pretty lucky too..."

"You hit the examiner?" asked Kita, glancing down at the examiner who gave his arm another rub after announcing the beginning of the next match. Kankuro pulled out a scroll as the Hyuuga boy, Neji, took a fighter's stance.

"Uh... I forgot to check before I punched..." Sora gave a nervous smile.

"Sora-kun! I'm so glad you won!" Yume squealed and attached herself to his arm once more.

Sora winced. "Ow... I'm sore there, be careful! That guy sure gave me a bit of a hassle before I was able to get an opening with my paralysis jutsu." He sat down and Jieichou passed him a water bottle. Sora took it questioningly.

"For your eyes," the grey-haired boy explained, shrugging casually. "They look like someone took a piece of sandpaper to them."

"Heh, well it sure feels like it..." Sora used his free arm to spill the water into his eyes. "That's better. Thanks, man." He passed it back.

"Ooh, look at that!" exclaimed Yume, jerking Sora off his chair as she stood up to see what was going on below. "Puppets!"

"Ow..." Sora groaned, then crawled up to glance over the railing as well. "Hey, she's right. Cool."

Kita observed the fight below; the Hyuuga looked reluctant towards fighting the puppets; however Kankuro seemed just the same about letting his puppets get close. Kita wondered why...

Kankuro twitched his fingers, sending his first puppet that Kita recognised as Karasu, rushing towards Neji. The other boy leapt to the side as the puppet went past.

"Coming at me so brashly... it's because you know my fighting style won't work against puppets." Neji's white eyes seemed to flash as the veins on his temples pumped harder to supply blood to them. "But I know your style as well."

"There's no point in trying to hide it then, is there?" asked Kankuro, pulling the white mass of bandages from his back. The bandages fell away and the real Kankuro stood up. His fingers twitched again and the sand giving his duplicate its appearance slid off, revealing another puppet- Kuroari. "Let's test whose style is stronger then."

Kankuro pulled his hand back and quickly jabbed forward. Kuroari was sent into the air like a missile at Neji.

"_Kaiten_!" yelled Neji, spiralling around on the balls of his feet. Blue chakra erupted from his skin, creating a dome. Kuroari struck it, bouncing off harmlessly. Kankuro pulled his puppet back to his side.

_They're both so evenly matched..._ thought Kita, her mind going over what she knew of the two.

_Kankuro, a puppet master from Suna; typically a long-range fighter who relies on his puppets to do his work and without them there is little he can do. Neji, from the Hyuuga bloodline in Konoha; seems to be a close-range fighter. His bloodline allows him to see more than other people. He also seems to be able to release chakra from his body to create a kind of dome barrier... _

"_Kaiten_!" Blue chakra swept across the ground again just as Kankuro sent both Karasu and Kuroari towards Neji again. As they hit, the puppets broke apart into segments, arms going one way and bodies the other. Neji came out of his spin and smirked. "Seems like I have the advantage now."

"Hm, yeah, _seems_..." Kankuro replied smiling, waving his hands and creating a surge in his chakra threads. The pieces of the puppets jumped up and connected themselves together again. Neji's brow twitched angrily.

_This may take a while..._ Kita leaned back.

* * *

**In town with Yanagi, Hana and Benkeino... **

"How long do these things usually go for?" asked Yanagi. "If we're going to the stadium, does that mean they expect the preliminaries to end quickly?"

"Jouryoku-san is the type to just get things over and done with," Benkeino replied. "He's an eager man, that one. Sure you don't want an ice cream, Yanagi?" he asked, pointing to the cold buckets of ice cream behind the glass. "Come on, my treat."

Hana wiped some banana ice cream off of her nose and giggled. "Come on, Yanagi! They have boysenberry! And the ice cream is so good too!"

"Uh... boysenberry?" Yanagi took a quick peep at the open buckets. "Oh, alright... just this once."

"Wonderful," Benkeino smiled and turned to the shop keeper. "And one boysenberry thanks." He handed the finished product to Yanagi.

"Mm, boysenberry... so good." The black-haired girl sighed happily as she licked away.

"Father, would they put the stadium matches on suspension if the preliminaries went for too long? Or would they proceed anyway?" Hana's dark brown eyes looked worried.

Benkeino took his own ice cream- two scoops of double chocolate fudge with marshmallows and peanuts- from the shop keeper and paid him. He paused before taking a bite. "I imagine they would make the entrants continue on with the fights. They're not stopping for anything this year it seems."

"Oh dear, I hope nobody gets hurt..." Hana clasped her other hand around her ice cream cone concernedly.

"The Grass are very skilled in medicines and healing, so it should be alright," he assured his daughter before taking a bite out of his ice cream. He stared down at the cold object in his hand. _Those kids will be fighting from dawn to dusk, no doubt about that. I wouldn't be surprised if people did get hurt... maybe even killed. One night's sleep can't undo all the stress they've been put under for the past few days. _

* * *

**At the preliminaries...**

Neji and Kankuro were panting heavily; the battle had been going for much longer than most people had anticipated. Sweat dripped from their faces, but neither were willing to take a chance and wipe it away in case the other decided to attack.

"You... tired... yet?" Neji held his fighting stance, ready to move, though his limbs felt like lead and his eyes like poached eggs. This was like a repeat of that fight he had with that spider-using guy all over again... without the life-threatening injuries however.

"Not... at all," grunted Kankuro, tightening the chakra strings as they became a little lax. He'd been managing to hold Neji off so far... he was lucky to be using two puppets; Neji had tried to break the chakra strings on one already to create an opening, but with the other puppet ready to support its partner, Neji didn't get very far.

"I'll finish you off in this last attack!" Neji collected what energy he had left and ran at Kankuro, his feet about to launch him into a jump.

"Over my dead body!" retorted Kankuro, flinging his puppets towards him.

"TIME!" yelled the chuunin examiner, appearing in the middle of the clash and grabbing Neji's leg and kicking the two puppets away.

The Hyuuga landed on his free leg and pulled his other out of the examiner's grip. Kankuro pulled Karasu and Kuroari back to him, letting his already-failing chakra strings dissolve.

"Twenty minutes have elapsed, and according to the rules, a tie is the result!" announced the examiner.

"A tie?" asked Kankuro. "But what does that mean then? We both lose?"

The chuunin opened his mouth to confirm.

"Examiner, I overrule the decision to disqualify both of these genin," interrupted Jouryoku, standing up.

Neji frowned, suspicious. "Why are you doing that?"

"And here I thought you would be thanking me, not questioning me..." Jouryoku responded indignantly. "Both of you are excellent genin, and it would be a shame not to see you advance to the next round. Thus am I allowing you both to proceed to the semi-finals- it would be a shame to see you come so far and not go further. Examiner, please make the ruling final."

The chuunin nodded. "Hyuuga Neji and Kankuro will both advance to the semi-finals under Jouryoku-sama's decision!"

The two genin finally wiped the sweat from their faces- their fight had not been in vain.

Jouryoku sat back down and smirked. _They may be strong fighters, but with the semi-finals in the same day, there is no way they will recover in time. Both will be easily picked off by my genin. The defeat of such strongly regarded genin will be quite a victory for the Grass... _

* * *

Neji took a relieved sigh and sat down with the rest of his team mates. 

"Um... Neji-nii-chan," Hinata said timidly, just barely catching her cousin's attention with her soft voice. The boy's white eyes glanced over at her.

"Yes, Hinata-sama?"

"Oh, here!" The lavender-eyed girl held out a small jar of salve. "For your injuries, that was a very hard battle."

"Thank you, Hinata-sama." Neji accepted it and gave a small smile at her. His younger cousin had been quick to forgive him and offer him her support. Neji was sure that she would be the one who would change the Hyuuga completely, if Naruto wasn't able to by that time.

* * *

Jieichou stood up and tightened his fists. On the other side of the stands, an older boy wearing a large jacket stood up. 

"Arabume Shino from Konoha and Jieichou from Iwa to the field please!" announced the examiner. The screen on the wall flashed their names up.

"Good luck, Jieichou!" Yume offered as her team mate leapt down to the floor. His opponent chose to use the stairs instead, seeming very calm.

"Match three; Shino versus Jieichou, begin!" The examiner raised his arm.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, well I'm going on holidays for a week, so the next chapter will take a little longer probably. Anyway, I hope you read what the A/N at the top said and I hope you enjoy that sample comic on my dA account. 

**Jutsu used:**

**Futon; Aori**_ (Wind release; Gust)_(Ninjutsu) (Wind element) (D rank) Causes a short, but powerful gust of wind to appear.

**Kafun Bakudan**_ (Pollen Bomb)_(Weapon) (Defensive) A type of smokebomb that releases pollen over an area. Used for both as a screen and as a distraction.

Quite a common weapon in the Grass, many families in Kusagakure have different pollen combinations. One family may harvest pollens that target the sinuses, and another may focus on ones that cause itching. Shuuki's family are one of the leading creators, and they have managed to create some pollen bombs that cause an opponent to fall asleep. However, harvesting the pollens for that particular one takes a long time, making the bombs quite valuable.

**Please leave a review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! **


	30. Different Strengths

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: IMPORTANT: **I made some more edits, this time to the last chapter. You'll mostly see the changes in the Sora x Shuuki fight.

Oh, and huzzah! 30 chapters! Celebration time! I hope you all took a look at that comic I posted up on my deviantart account for the story.

**Questions: **

**Q- Why haven't you been doing your Jutsu info at the end's of your chapters? I noticed you stopped doing it right when the Snow Team attacked. **

**A- **Ack, silly me I forgot! I've gone through and added some (sorry if I missed any, just point them out).

**Q- What is with the time limit? **

**A-** Jouryoku intends to try and have both the prelims and the round after that on the same day... stupid, but he's the boss (something a little suspicious there too, don't you agree?).

**Questions for the characters! **

**Q- Tsunade: Why aren't you at the fights?**

**Tsunade- **It's a small sacrifice of not being allowed in as long as I know that Benkeino-man isn't going in either. Besides, I have some other matters to take care of... mainly concerning a pair of uncooperative genin.

* * *

**_Chapter 30: Different Strengths _**

Jieichou tensed as one of his opponent's hands slid out of his pocket. _He's going to make a move,_ Jieichou thought. _What will it be? Kunai, shuriken, or maybe a smokebomb? _

Shino pushed his sunglasses up his nose instead. "You wait for me to make the first move; it is because you don't know my skills presumably."

The grey-haired boy frowned. "You didn't make the first move either though."

The boy with the sunglasses didn't respond.

_He's patient... almost like he doesn't even care about the time limit..._ Jieichou's brow furrowed in thought. _If he won't make a move, then maybe I can catch him with a surprise attack._

In a blink, the Stone genin ran at Shino. The older boy didn't even seem to notice behind his dark shades. Jieichou leapt into the air and twisted to face down.

"_Chakra Kinbaku_!" Two fiery blue ropes appeared out of Jieichou's arms and wrapped around Shino, binding him tight. Still the other ninja didn't make any signs of acknowledgement. Jieichou landed and pulled back hard.

The chakra ropes seemed to snap, causing Jieichou to stumble backwards. He looked up to see the remaining chakra dissolve around its previous target... who was now right before him, looking down through sunglass-covered eyes. Jieichou's eyes widened as he saw hundreds of tiny black insects crawling around Shino's body, gnawing on the last shreds of chakra remaining.

"If you clear your mind and make no presumptions, then you can be prepared for whatever the opponent throws at you," murmured Shino. "Your skills in this match are not developed enough yet."

Jieichou sighed and got to his feet. He raised his hand and turned to the examiner. "I forfeit." He looked back at Shino. "Next time, I'll be the one who's more prepared."

Shino nodded his acknowledgement. "I look forward to it."

* * *

"Jieichou, why'd you forfeit like that?" demanded Tansei as Jieichou settled into his seat with a defeated, yet satisfied look on his face. "You could have used taijutsu on him just then!"

Jieichou shook his head. "No, I couldn't have beaten someone like that, even with taijutsu... I'm glad I've learnt something, although I lost..." He went silent. _Those bugs... they were protecting him... He may seem weak, but he's much stronger than he looks, in both terms of skill and intelligence... _

Tansei crossed his arms and looked away.

"It's good to know your limits," Sora said quietly. "Better off knowing when you're beat and giving up before you get hurt sometimes."

"I agree, Sora-kun!" Yume nodded. "It would have been so terrible if Jieichou had gone through so much trouble and gotten beat!"

Kita's hair picked up gently as a breeze filled the hall; it was Temari's turn now. The Suna genin had rode her fan down onto the ground. Kita's lips twitched in a slight smile- she admired the older girl and almost envied her skills. However, apart from her skills, Temari also disliked seafood. They had bonded quite quickly after discovering that...

Her reminiscing was interrupted as she heard yelling and barking on the other side of the stands and looked up.

"Yeah, we can beat her, can't we Akamaru?" A boy sporting two red fang-marks on his cheeks grinned and pumped his fist into the air. The white dog beside him barked enthusiastically. The two leapt down to the ground and eyed their opponent.

Temari leaned on her fan and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, it's just you two- nothing to get worked up over."

"What did you say?" yelled Kiba, getting steamed. Akamaru barked furiously. "Akamaru and I will beat you up before you can even blink! Even if you are a girl, I'm not going easy on you!"

The blonde-haired girl smirked and shifted her body weight. Her hand gripped the edge of her fan tightly.

"Match four; Temari versus Kiba, begin!" The examiner raised his hand.

"Let's go Akamaru! We'll teach her a lesson for insulting us!" Kiba growled and charged in at Temari.

"Heh, pathetic..." Temari looked down her nose at him. In a single movement, her fan was open to its full size, obscuring her entire body from view.

Kiba's eyes widened and he ground to a halt. Akamaru's claws scraped at the tiles as he followed his master's decision.

"You shouldn't rush in so quickly, Kiba-_chan_," said Temari, moving her fan to reveal her face. She smirked.

"And you shouldn't hide behind that fan!" Kiba snarled back in retort. Akamaru growled threateningly.

"So you want fists then? Alright... I can still win against you without it anyway." Temari placed her foot under the fan and kicked it up into the air. The fan spun up in the air, still wide open.

"Ha, you're ours now! Come on Akamaru!" Kiba put his hands together in seal as Akamaru jumped onto his back and barked. "_Juujin Bunshin_!"

In a cloud of smoke there appeared two Kiba sporting animal-like qualities.

"You're nothing without your precious fan!" yelled one of the Kiba in a victorious voice. Together they leapt towards Temari, claws at the ready.

"Didn't I tell you not to rush in, Kiba-kun? You could have smelt me out if you weren't so full of ignorance!"

The Temari before them disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Kiba and Akamaru to miss and slide across the floor empty handed.

Akamaru snarled and looked up at the sky, catching his master's attention. Temari was once again riding her fan, this time towards the wall. She jumped off and stuck to the side of the wall, grabbing her fan and holding it in both hands.

"_Futon: Daitoppa_!" In one clean action she swept her fan in front of her.

Kiba and Akamaru stood no chance as the powerful gust of wind caused them to fly up like a bullet towards the other wall. The pair hit in a small explosion of dust and brick. They slumped down onto the floor, defeated and back to normal.

"Winner, Temari!" announced the examiner before giving a sigh of relief. He had slowly moved towards the same wall when he first saw the Suna-girl on her fan, just getting out of the way of the danger zone. That girl was definitely scary...

Temari flipped off of the wall and landed, closing her fan.

The crowd clapped, looking a little windswept, however. The Grass Sisters were frantically trying to fix their hair.

Hinata and Shino were over at the wall, helping Kiba to stand. Hinata grabbed some more ointment out of her bad and applied some onto Kiba's various face-wounds. Shino silently gathered Akamaru up in his arms.

* * *

"Wow, that was quite a move!" exclaimed Yume. "She created a bunshin just as she opened her fan, and then fooled that dog guy with it when she hid behind the fan as she threw it away! That took a lot of skill!"

"And perfect timing," agreed Jieichou. "She must have trained very hard to be able to use her weapon as both a defensive and offence tool."

Sora looked over at Kita, wondering her opinion on it since she knew Temari. Not wanting to reveal the fact, he linked to her psychically, only to find interference in a strange jumble of... Sora couldn't find a word better to describe it other than mind-static.

"Kita..." Sora leaned in to her, careful not to disturb Yume's grip on his opposite arm as he did.

Kita glanced across at him. "Hm, what is it?"

"Are you, feeling okay?" asked Sora concernedly.

"Uh, sure, just having some of that headache still- probably from the switch of my chakra types or something." She shrugged. "How come?"

"Oh, never mind... it's, um... it's nothing." He replied, turning back. _How strange... I've been able to talk to people with headaches before... how come this is so different...? Geez, maybe I'm being too paranoid about this... _

Tansei stood up as his name was called suddenly. He cracked his knuckles and gave a quick glance at Yume. The pink-clad girl met his gaze for a second before sniffing and turning back to Sora and hugging his arm tighter. Sora gave a yelp. Tansei frowned and vaulted over the metal bars to the floor below. A girl with her brown hair done up in buns waited for him at the bottom.

Kita raised an eyebrow slightly at the exchange. _There's something up between those two... Yume didn't offer any words of encouragement at all, that doesn't seem like what I've seen from her._

"Match five; Tansei versus Tenten! Begin!" The examiner jumped back, eager not to get in any kind of trouble like before.

The brown-haired girl leapt into the air and drew out a line of string with kunai strung along it. With the ease of many years of practise, she whipped the string forward, sending the barrage of kunai in a straight line towards Tansei.

"_Doton; Iwa Honkyo no jutsu_!" The line of kunai struck a solid rock dome that rose up out of the tiles, protecting Tansei underneath.

Tenten landed and assessed the situation as quickly as she could... _Ground jutsu like that would be a challenge, though not an impossible one. Eventually he'd have to come out if he wants to beat me._ Tenten pulled a small scroll out of her pouch and opened it slightly, ready to summon an entire army of pointy objects.

A blurred shape emerged from the stone dome and began to run.

A puff of smoke appeared under Tenten's hand and a pair of handle-less kunai flew into the running shape. The kunai met a larger puff of smoke, as a bunshin was destroyed.

Tenten frowned and stretched out more of her scroll.

This time, several Tansei emerged from the dome and started to run around. They seemed to have no pattern in the way they ran, they were just running for the sake of it.

More kunai struck them, making them disappear.

Tenten was starting to feel frustrated.

* * *

"What kind of strategy is this?" asked Sora, staring down in amazement. "I've never seen anything like it..." 

"Tansei is a natural genius," commented Jieichou. "But I suppose we always knew that. But he's also a hard working one too. In the past year with his probation, he's been working hard to redeem himself."

"Redeem himself?" asked Kita suddenly, her attention caught. "But the people in Iwa wouldn't think he did anything wrong."

"No, it's not for them," Jieichou shook his head, "it's for us, especially you guys."

Kita looked a little shocked. "But I thought..."

"It's true," interrupted Sora, sounding frank. "Even before coming here, I saw changes in him. He apologised to Hana one day I remember. I think she's forgiven him, though the two still have a bit of a shaky relationship. But you've seen how Hana's been happier these days... He's trying hard to repair the damage he's done. And he's trying to become a strong ninja so he can one day protect us."

Kita turned back to the battlefield and continued to watch, mulling over what had been said.

Sora turned back as well, though this time his thoughts drifted back to the night before...

* * *

**Last night... **

Suddenly, Kita dropped her chopsticks. She stood up and bowed to everyone. "Please excuse me!" She ran over to the door and put her sandals on before running outside.

"Huh?" blinked Rosuto. "Kita!" he yelled, but she was already gone.

Everyone eyed the door, wondering what brought about her swift departure. And from there, the night went even faster downhill until it was time to leave. Unfortunately, Rosuto was footed with the bill. Sadly, he dished out a wad of cash and placed his lightened wallet back in his pocket.

Sora felt relieved as Yume woefully farewelled him and ran to catch up with her sensei and Jieichou. Yanagi was trailing behind with Hana, looking cranky to say the least.

"Sora," said a voice. Tansei quickened his pace to catch up to Sora.

"Yeah, what is it?" asked Sora, sounding a little cranky himself.

"I want to talk to you about something." The green-haired boy replied, his brow twitching at Sora's tone.

Sora grimaced. "If it's about Yume, then-"

"No, it's not about her. It's..." Tansei took a short breath. "It's about Kita."

The blue-haired boy frowned. "Why do you want to talk to me about her? You shouldn't even be thinking about her after you did the things you did to her. Hasn't she gone through enough already?"

"Sora, please..." Tansei said suddenly. "It's important."

Sora paused... Tansei sounded seriously earnest. "Alright," he grumbled. He glimpsed back at the girls who seemed distracted for the time being. "Let's find somewhere else though."

The pair soon found themselves in a public courtyard off from the street, where people were allowed to sit and enjoy the flowers of Kusagakure. The two sat opposite from each other at a wooden table.

"So what is it?" asked Sora, wondering what he wanted.

Tansei looked contemplative before he spoke. "Look, I know I did a lot of wrong things before, but I want to rectify those mistakes."

"That's an awful lot to make up for, especially to Kita," Sora frowned. "I know you've tried to apologise to Hana, and she's been a lot happier for it, but that's because she's such a wonderfully forgiving person. Kita is a hard one to sway. Just apologising here won't make up for everything you've caused."

"I know... I know..." Tansei sighed, placing his hands on the table and squeezed them tight. "I want to tell her the reason why I did what I did, but I know that'd only make things worse."

"Reason?" asked Sora. "What reason is that then?"

Tansei's brown eyes moved to the ground. His voice became a lot more humble sounding. "I realised, I'm the kind of person who becomes jealous easily. I was jealous at Hana because my uncle tried to train her in the way I wanted to be trained. In my eyes, I saw her as a lost cause and not talented enough to become a strong person. I see differently now. Hana's been training and trying her hardest to become a medic. She's a natural at it... I really do wish her all the best now."

"And Kita?"

"Things started differently with her... Because, she was my first crush..." Sora's eyes widened for a split second before the other boy continued. "And that day when the Nekomata first appeared, I felt betrayed. She seemed to hurt so many other people I cared about all at once. I was so angry when I saw that she had hurt you, my best friend. I felt she was a monster, and she had lied to us this entire time.

And when I saw her all those years later after she came out of her condition, and then be accepted so easily as genin... I was even more angered, and also jealous because she could just get away with all that in front of my uncle's eyes... he seemed to care for her even more than me, his own nephew. I'd go ask him to train me like he did before, but he always seemed to be going to see how she was doing in hospital, or going to talk to her father. And when I finally saw her after you guys were attacked by that missing-nin from the Cloud that was just the breaking point..."

"And then you went out and attacked her..." Sora mumbled softly.

"It was such a stupid thing." Tansei put his head in his hands. "I wish I could change what happened that day, but I can't... that's why I want to try and change myself instead, so something like this doesn't happen again. And I want Kita to know that too. I hope that instead of attacking her, one day I can protect her. I want to become a strong ninja, not for myself, but for everyone in the village. And I want the village to forgive Kita too. She shouldn't have to put up with any more pain..."

Sora nodded. "Maybe one day things will change... for the better."

* * *

**Present time...**_  
_

_What on earth is this?_ wondered Tenten angrily, continuing to fling weapons at all the bunshin. _How many more are there going to be? This kid should be out of chakra by now with all these things! I'm going to have to take out that dome. _

The brown-haired girl quickly brought out a new scroll, kicking her spent-up scroll and its many rolls away. Tenten growled; cleaning up was the worst part. She dragged out some of the script from the larger scroll and put her hand over it. A large claw-like weapon on a metal ring appeared in her hand. Tenten dropped her new scroll and flicked her hand. The blades of the weapon spread out, to show its true form; a fuuma shuriken.

Tenten grunted as she flung the large weapon towards the stone dome. The huge shuriken sliced right through it like butter, demolishing it along the way. As it twisted to return, Tenten's spotted something wrong in the remaining crowd of running bunshin- one that was currently pulling a kunai lodged in his shoulder out. Tenten smirked secretively as she caught the fuuma shuriken again. So that was the kid's plan... he must of escaped just a little while before the dome came down while she was still throwing her other weapons, and then left a suitable amount inside to continue filing out. The kid relied on confusion to hide himself, though not for long.

In an instant, the fuuma shuriken was thrown again, taking out most of the bunshin before this time lodging itself in the wall. More kunai came, destroying the others and leaving only one behind- the real one.

Tenten approached him.

The ground rumbled underneath her. Tenten leapt out of the way as a solid jet of stone skyrocketed out of the ground. In the air, Tenten grabbed a handful of strings. Up from the battlefield, weapons rose up, ready to work again for their mistress. As more rock-jets flew out of the tiles, weapons rained down upon Tansei. Various blades sliced into his flesh, making brown blood pour out onto the ground.

_Brown blood? _Tenten's eyes widened as she landed back on the floor. Her opponent suddenly burst apart, sending globs of thick mud splatter everywhere, including into Tenten's eyes. The girl gave a cry as a hand grabbed her ankle from underneath and dragged her down.

The rock-jets and the remains of the dome disappeared back into the floor, repaired, sans the tiles however.

Tansei crossed his arms and looked down at Tenten. "You can't defeat the strength of a stone," he muttered.

"Winner, Ishi Tansei!" The examiner called out.

* * *

**A/N: **Phew, glad I got this chapter over and done with. Plenty more fights coming soon. 

**Jutsu used:**

The other jutsu not mentioned here can be found in the official data books, or on wikipedia.

**Chakra Kinbaku **_(Tight Binding Chakra)_(Ninjutsu) (No rank) Created by Jieichou, this jutsu allows him to manipulate the chakra points around his hand/wrists and create long ropes of chakra, almost like how puppeteers use their fingers for chakra strings.

**Until next time, leave a review thankies! **


	31. Cloud and Grass

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Tada:3 Oh, and I've updated my profile to include links to my art for this. So enjoy!

**Questions for the characters! **

**Q- Sora: Can't you just use your Bloodline to make Yume like Tansei? **

**Sora- **It doesn't really work that way... Things with higher brain functions are very hard to persuade.

**Q- Chouji: What exactly is Tsunade doing to Ino and Sakura? **

**Chouji- **I'd rather not find out... but I heard a window smash in her motel room, and when I walked outside, I found a mini-bar full of chocolate and soda... I had to get out of the way quickly though because a couch came flying out of the window after it.

* * *

**_Chapter 31: Cloud and Grass _**

A medical team came over to check Tenten and heaved her out of the floor as she was unable to struggle free. The human-sized hole was roughly patched up with a jutsu, and Tenten's weapons were cleared from the floor.

Tenten sighed and went back to the stands to sit next to Neji. "I can't believe I lost against a kid like that..."

"Some people are just natural geniuses," replied Neji, eyeing the boy as he walked back to his own place. He then turned his gaze back to his team-mate. "At least you will have Lee to accompany you next time."

The girl looked away, hiding an expression that Neji presumed to be either a smile, or a look of extreme horror.

* * *

_I didn't realise how strong Tansei really was..._ Kita thought as Tansei came back and sat down. _It's possible he could give a lot of the other participants here quite a run for their money. I know I'd have trouble with him... What do you think, Nibi? _

There was no reply.

_Nibi?_ Kita asked.

There was still no reply.

"Koishii Mikomi and Ichidano Rindou- would you come down please for your match!"

Kita chewed her bottom lip in frustration and frowned. Nibi was usually so talkative when it came to discussing battles... She wondered why the bijuu hadn't started talking before when the matches began... Kita was sure Nibi wouldn't have missed the chance to mock the participants, and then rant on about how strong it was in comparison.

"Match six; Mikomi versus Rindou, begin!"

The yell from the examiner caught her attention and she looked down. Rindou pushed some loose strands of her pinkish-brown hair behind her ear, revealing her large, tulip-shaped earrings. "I'm not going to give you an easy time," she said to Mikomi.

The curly-haired girl clenched her hands and readied her feet. "Well, neither will I then. I'll give you a challenge." She pulled out a rather bulky and oddly shaped kunai from her pouch and began to run. With the kunai in her hands, she gripped it tightly before throwing.

Rindou had already begun her own work, however. Swiftly, she unclipped an earring and held it in her hand, sending a wave of chakra to it. The earring exploded in a surge of green growth. Ivy flew seemingly straight out of Rindou's hand, tangling itself into a thick wall. The strange kunai Mikomi had thrown dug itself into the tiles as it dropped, rendered harmless by the vegetation.

"It's my family's speciality," mused Rindou from behind the green wall. "_Matsuri Tsuta_... this one's a unique variety, but you'll only find out by getting shown."

Mikomi glared at the ivy and pulled out more strange kunai. She hurled them, one after the other, straight at the tangled web of vine. Each one followed the one before- onto the floor, unable to penetrate the thickening wall of ivy.

"Using all those kunai was a bad move." Rindou sent another burst of chakra through the ivy. The vines swept across the tiles and picked up Mikomi's spent kunai, brandishing them madly. More vines continued to spread out, weaving their way in and out of each other and towards the Kumo genin.

Mikomi attempted to dodge by jumping, but the confusing and rapid growth of the ivy was too wild to escape. Like lightning, a tangle of ivy wrapped around her neck and pulled her down. Mikomi clawed at it, but the ivy only became tighter.

Rindou sounded disgruntled. "You said you'd give me a challenge. This is disappointing."

"It's... not over yet," Mikomi winced, wrapping her hands tightly around the vine at her neck like she did with her kunai. "I have a surprise stored up for you..."

A spark of lightning flickered down the length of the vine, circling around the chakra and feeding off of it. The spark grew larger and split off towards the bulky kunai held by the ivy.

Rindou's eyes widened as the kunai exploded in a blinding flash of lightning, catching her and throwing her back violently onto the floor. The vines burst into flame around her. Mikomi gave a sharp cry and pulled the burning ivy off of her skin quickly, just avoiding being burnt more seriously. A red mark encircled her neck. Rindou lie several feet away, surrounded by burning vines and kunai shrapnel. Her eyes opened fluttered open lightly.

"What... was that...?" she whispered hoarsely.

"_Hokanryou__ kunai_... activated by releasing stored-up electricity in my _Chikudenchi yoroi_..." Mikomi panted, feeling tired. "I don't need... a jutsu to create electricity that way..."

Rindou's head fell to the side, unconscious.

Mikomi put her hands on her knees, sweating.

"Winner, Mi-"

The curly-haired girl fell onto the floor.

"Mikomi-chan!" yelled her two team-mates, leaping to the floor.

"You two, get back to your places," ordered a medic-nin, rushing over with the rest of their team.

Rei and Uteki halted in their tracks.

The medic examined Mikomi whilst the burning vines were doused and Rindou placed on a stretcher. "I thought so..." mumbled the medic. "This ivy had a kind of poison it in. The heat from the fire must have caused the cells to accelerate the poison's effect." The medic called for another stretcher to carry Mikomi out.

"What's the verdict?" asked the examiner.

The medic shook their head. "She won't even be up and walking for the next few days, let alone continuing to the next round. It'll have to be a tie."

The examiner nodded. "Due to implications with the winner's health, this match has been declared a tie and neither will advance!"

Rei looked at Uteki worriedly. "What do we do?"

"We'll stay, and kick Grass butt, that's what." Uteki's scowl was deep. He glanced up at the TV screen. "It's your turn. Good luck."

The black-haired boy nodded and pulled his red gloves up into a snugger fit. "I'll fight my hardest, for Mikomi-chan." Rei looked over to the building doors, where Mikomi had just been carried through. _Nobody ever said things would get this bad though..._

"Stay focussed, Rei," Uteki growled. "Mikomi-chan will be fine; you don't have the time to think about her right now." He nodded at him once and went back to his seat.

"Ouritsu Masakari, to the field please!" yelled the examiner.

The eldest of the Grass Sisters leapt elegantly down to the floor and took a quick glimpse up at her father. He looked down at her expectantly. Masakari turned her vision forward to her competitor, a genin from the Cloud. He looked nervous, probably from seeing his team-mate taken out like that. She lowered her face and burgundy hair slipped across hiding her cruel smile. Her fingers twitched eagerly towards the 'sash' around her shoulder.

Rei moved his hand slowly to the pouch on his side as he saw the look in the girl's eyes. She wasn't going to play around here; he could feel it.

The examiner raised his arm. "Match seven; Masakari versus Rei, begin!"

Masakari's hand flew to her sash and it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Suddenly, the burgundy-haired girl was holding a thick green whip in her hand. It was no ordinary whip though- the whole thing was a vine covered in thorns thicker than most people's fingers. Red roses grew off of it, the colour of blood. The girl snapped her wrist and uncoiled it to its total length, at least seven or more feet long.

Rei's face twitched. The thing looked like an omen. In the depths of his mind, he remembered Mikomi being choked by ivy and he gulped. Coming back to his senses, Rei reached into his pouch and brought his spinning top out. Holding it, he quickly formed hand-seals around it. "_Raiton; Kaden no jutsu!_" The top sprung to life to his hand, jittering about in an excited manner before bouncing onto the floor and speeding away.

The Grass sister watched the object curiously, her mind ticking in thought of its purpose. The top spun closer to her, circling like a small shark.

Masakari dodged as a bolt of lightning was spat out of the top, aiming for her previous location. Immediately she turned and threw her whip up into the air. Rei's glove caught on a thorn and ripped as he attempted a punch from above.

Another bolt of lightning zapped out of Rei's weapon, distracting Masakari enough to give Rei time to reach a safe distance away.

"I see..." Masakari dodged again. She was quick despite the heaviness of the whip. "You're much different from your team-mate before, but you still depend on items that store electricity. You distract me with that toy of your's and then you come in for the hit."

Rei growled; his golden-brown eyes intense. "There's no way you can deal with both at once though. You'll get defeated by either my lightning attacks, or my fist."

The burgundy-haired girl gave a smile, but no response. She flipped her wrist and a single rose was sent into the air. As it fluttered down, it blocked the electricity that was meant for Masakari. The electricity heightened and flashed for a brief second before the rose dropped onto the ground, nothing more than a piece of smouldering ash now. Masakari's gaze switched back to Rei. _Hm, so it's the same here too... the lightning is chakra-based, so it feeds off of it, and is attracted to it like a lightning rod._

In a flash, Rei saw the whip coming for him, almost like it had come out of nowhere. He jumped back, the tip of the vine missing his face by a hair's breadth. It snapped in the air, creating a loud crack that hurt his ears before travelling back towards Masakari. She readied her whip again and ran forwards, intent on reaching her opponent this time. Rei barely had the time to blink, let alone think as his reflexes took over, leading him into a retreat. He didn't see the wall as it loomed closer until it was too late. His heel bumped onto the bricks, breaking his concentration.

The lapse was his downfall- Masakari's vine wrapped around him like a snake, coiling him up tight in its folds- its thorns gripped his skin, tearing at flesh and clothing. Rei gave a yell of pain.

"Caught you," grinned the Grass sister.

Rei's eyes flickered to the side for a second and his mouth twitched in a smile. He wasn't totally done yet. A bolt of lightning erupted out of Rei's spinning top as it sped to free its master.

The vine holding Rei flared up with the blue of chakra. Masakari flung her end of the vine up into the air.

"Oops," chirped the girl, quickly getting to the floor and rolling a few feet away. She gave him a quick wink.

Rei's eyes widened as the lightning bolt from his own weapon hit the vine and fed off the chakra Masakari had left on it.

The crowd seemed to give a collected gasp as Rei screamed and writhed, his own attack causing his own defeat. The electricity fizzled away, leaving Rei on the ground. Smoke wafted off of his clothes. Masakari's vine was a limp brown rope, all of the roses on it burnt away. She stood up and walked over to it, bending down to pick it up.

"_Sokusei no jutsu_," whispered Masakari, forming hand-seals over her weapon. Immediately the vine sprung back to life, green and healthy as ever. She turned to the examiner. "Well?" she asked expectantly, putting a hand on her hip and raising an eyebrow over towards Rei's electrocuted form.

"Uh..." The examiner looked over at Rei again. A medical team had sprung into action and put him on a stretcher. "Winner, Ouritsu Masakari!"

Masakari fitted her vine around her shoulder again, the weapon once again becoming a harmless sash in a puff of smoke. She flipped some hair out of her face and went back to her seat. As she passed Uteki, she gave a deadly-looking smirk. The blond-haired boy glared back, anger building in his face.

Down on the stretcher, Rei opened and closed his hand roughly. One of the medics picked up his spinning top, which had finally puttered out, and placed it in the boy's hand. Rei gripped it tightly as the shell of it cracked.

_I'm sorry, Mikomi-chan... _

* * *

Kita felt just as angry as Uteki. _I knew it... that's how they killed Kaisui and her brother. _Her hands squeezed her knees tightly as she thought about it. Her fingernails dug tightly into the cloth of her skirt like claws.

"Kita!" Sora gripped Kita's arm.

"What?" snapped the girl, her pupils dilating to cat-like slits. Her canines looked sharper than usual. A dark aura seemed to radiate straight out of her eyes.

Sora had an expression of pure shock on his face. He quickly let go of Kita's arm like he had been burnt.

Kita caught a glimpse of fear in his eyes and came to her senses. "Sora... I'm, I'm sorry..." She peeled her fingers off of her knees, her fingernails melting back to normal as well as her eyes and teeth. "I was thinking about the match and..."

"No, it's okay..." Sora replied, looking back down at the ground level where the medics were still examining Rei. The blue-haired boy frowned. "I know just how you feel. People with attitudes like that shouldn't be called shinobi."

"I agree," interjected Jieichou, leaning in from his seat in the row above. He shrugged apologetically. "Couldn't help listening in, sorry,"

Kita's hands twitched. Although she thought Jieichou was nice enough, she wondered what he really thought of her.

"Something else I noticed while looking at some of the lower-level examiners here," continued Jieichou. "They all seemed pretty scared."

"Scared?" Kita looked around the room and spotted a few Grass chuunin gazing down at Rei as he was carried off, and then up at Masakari as she laughed with her sisters. Indeed, many of them had nervous expressions.

"Imagine having to go up against all three of them at the same time..." Sora gulped.

"It's _that_ one you have to be most scared about," said Tansei, his arms crossed as he looked down from his place next to Jieichou. "She's the oldest, so she'd have the highest quality skills of the three." Tansei raised an eyebrow at Sora. "It's simple logic."

"You'll protect me from them, won't you, Sora-kun?" whimpered Yume, finally coming into the conversation as well. During the fight she had dropped her grip on Sora's arm. She took it up again in a bone-breaking squeeze.

"Sure," yelped Sora quickly. Yume loosened her grip a little at his words.

"Anyway, you'll get your chance to test my theory, Kita," said Tansei, turning his attention away from Yume and Sora. "You'll be up soon for your match against one of them."

"After mine!" chirped Yume. "And I know Sora-kun will cheer for me, won't you?"

"Ack, yes!" Sora's arm felt crushed again.

Yume smiled happily, then went back to looking around the stands... for about three seconds before turning back excitedly. "Hey, that mysterious guy from the scroll is up!"

"Would Touzoku Maboroshi and Genno Araiki please come down for your match!" yelled the examiner, rubbing some sweat off of his face. If Masakari wasn't bad enough, now he had the village's resident demon fighting as well. Everyone knew of Araiki's father's murder... since then the boy had been feared, but many had learnt to cope with his presence.

"Good luck, Araiki!" Rindou slapped Araiki on the back as he stood up. She slung an arm around Shuuki's neck, choking him slightly. "Aren't you going to wish him good luck too, Shuuki?"

"Uh, good luck Araiki!" Shuuki grinned underneath his bruises. As Araiki leapt down to the floor the two started to struggle. "Rindou!" Shuuki whined, trying to get out of his team-mate's headlock.

"Aw, what's wrong, Shuu-chan? Can't even beat up a girl?" She teased playfully. She ruffled his hair with her fist and let go.

Shuuki pouted. "I'm sore still, and you know it. And you know I wouldn't beat you up. You're scarier than Houkou sometimes!"

The girl gave a death-stare at him for a minute before she winked. "Yeah, you better believe it!"

Shuuki scratched the back of his neck and blushed, though Rindou wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or not. She shrugged and turned to watch Araiki again.

* * *

"You had better win this," hissed Kasukako to Maboroshi. "I want revenge on that Mitsukai for what she did to Hyouden-san."

The older boy nodded. "Don't worry, Kasukako-chan, I can take out this guy easy. He looks like he'd be hopeless at dealing with genjutsu."

"You better hope so," growled the small girl, unconsciously patting the scroll on her belt.

Maboroshi gulped. Sometimes he wondered why Kasukako showed so much respect to Hyouden when he was obviously weaker than her... he turned and walked towards the stairs.

When he reached the floor, he took up position and faced his opponent.

Araiki did the same, though his eyes briefly wandered up to a certain cat-eared girl in the stands. Kita was watching him.

_Heh heh..._ _hoping she'll cheer for you, are you?_ asked Houkou. _Because she won't... _

_I don't care about that,_ replied Araiki, slightly embarrassed. _She's watching, that's all that matters. I need to concentrate now. _

_Alright then, kid... heh heh... let's see if you remember what I've taught you..._ Houkou's voice faded away, though Araiki knew he was still on the edge of his mind.

Araiki stood confidently._ Watch me, Kita-chan..._

* * *

**A/N: **Hehe, so was that fun? Oh, I've decided to give you guys a little extra this time with some personal info on Kita! Oh, and just so you know, the date in the story is July 6th. The exam started on July 1st. Just thought you'd like to know! 

**Jutsu, ect. used:**

**Hokanryou Kunai**_ (Storage Charge Knives)_(Weapon) (Offensive) These kunai have a small copper rod hidden inside a hollowed-out handle filled with the user's chakra. When the user places a spark of their own electricity-converted-chakra into the kunai, the chakra already inside is converted as well, expanding within the kunai and causing it to explode.

Rei's own weapon is a slight variation of this; however it has been changed so that adding electricity to the chakra already inside it powers the top up and causes it to spin.

**Chikudenchi**** Yoroi **_(Storage Battery Armour)_(Armour) Like the **_Hokanryou Kunai_**** and Rei's spinning top, this armour has been specially customised to store large amounts of electricity converted from the user's chakra to reduce time in using jutsus.**

**Matsuri Tsuta **_(Tangle Ivy)_(Weapon) (Defensive/Offensive) By adding chakra to the seeds of this plant, the ivy comes to life, feeding off of chakra to create instant growth without roots.

**Raiton; Kaden no jutsu **_(Lightning release; Electric Spark)_(Ninjutsu) (Lightning Element) A simple lightning jutsu that creates a spark.

**Sokusei no jutsu **_(Promotion of growth)_(Ninjutsu) (E class) A very basic jutsu that all academy students learn. It acts as a healing jutsu for vegetation, restoring them back to health.

**Profile: **

**Name:** Mitsukai Kita

**Alias:** Nekomusume

**Nickname/s:** Kitty

**Age: **11

**Birthday:** December 13

**Blood type: **O

**Eye colour:** Purple

**Hair colour:** Very light purple, to the point of looking silver

**Favourite food:** Medium-rare steak and strawberry milkshakes

**Favourite colour:** Dark violet

**Bloodline Limit:** _Hikari no Shuujuku_ (Mastery of Light)

**Bijuu: **Nibi no Nekomata

**Personality: **Kita is a complex person because of her dealings with the Nekomata. At times, she could be considered mentally unstable from the strange mix of human and cat-like instincts she has developed. Somehow they have been smashed together to work, however that is not always the case. Kita almost has a fear of her own self. She is not so much concerned about Nibi gaining control as much as herself losing control to the feline-side of herself, which is almost guaranteed to surface when she is angered enough or is put in a situation where human instincts wouldn't work as well. Kita hates to deal with death, but has come to accept it as a part of herself and her life- though she still has hesitations about using the abilities granted to her by the Nekomata.

On the outside, Kita shows traits of a confident and caring leader to her close friends, who she will fight hard to protect. However, when around those she feels uncomfortable with she often becomes quiet and introverted, unless her friends are around who she uses for emotional support. There are times occasionally where she will become hostile and difficult to speak with though.

When faced by people like those in her home village, she is very likely to run away, unable to cope with the animosity given to her by them.

For reasons like that she can be very stubborn, and finds it hard to trust people and warm up to them. It could even be said that she expects high standards and is aloof. She often looks down on and begrudges people whose ideals she doesn't agree with totally. Being stubborn and the kind to easily hold a grudge, Kita is likely to seek revenge if she feels something has personally affected her or her friends.

Although her ordeals have caused her to mature quickly and go through many harrowing experiences, Kita tires desperately to cling to shreds of innocence that still linger, wether or not they be the innocence of a kitten or a child. With these, however, and her inability to make fast friends with many people, Kita finds herself feeling very isolated from the rest of 'normal' society. After meeting Gaara though, Kita was able to find a kind of kindred spirit to bond with. Because of this, that is the reason why Kita tries so hard to return the favour of friendship that she first found with him.

**On Character Development from Yours Truly: **

Kita was always my first OC Naruto character (with Rosuto second), and I had always intended her to be a jinchuuriki. The idea for her came from a picture I drew of a cat-girl, and somehow the character was instantly born.

Kita's look has pretty much always been the same (you'd have to look around in my deviantart scraps and gallery for that); the hair style and her eye shape have pretty much always stayed the same.

Her personality is a different matter though. When I first wrote a story with Kita, she had more of a split personality, which gradually developed into one a little bit similar to Gaara's, where she was very keen on the idea of hurting people, albeit for revenge (in the beginning, Rosuto was like Kita's guardian after her parents died. Kita's cruel personality came about as an effect of Rosuto being killed for trying to get her out of the city before being used as a weapon). She also had traits of Araiki's personality, which in the end I transferred to him as a kind of homage, though mostly in the form of his history, as Kita in her first story was kept locked in a dark cage and brought out only for missions.

However, I found that that story just didn't do it for Kita and I started a new one, Lone Angel, which eventually was renamed to Two Tailed Angel, the story you're reading right now. I feel that Kita has come out in the way she was always meant to be. Her personality is much more developed and her ideals make a lot more sense. I'm sure she'll continue to develop in the future as well.

**I hope you enjoyed that, so please leave a review. All questions, ect, are welcome! **


	32. Disturbance

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **I'm afraid this chapter may be a little shorter than usual. I've had assignments, so I've been working hard. However, you get quite a bit of action in this, so I make no apology. Hehe.

* * *

**_Chapter 32: Disturbance _**

"Match eight; Maboroshi versus Araiki, begin!" The examiner leapt back, afraid of what the demon-possessed boy may do.

"_Tsubame Fubuki_!" Maboroshi took a deep breath before dozens of ice shards came pouring out of his mouth and flew into the air, forming into the shape of a flock of swallows. The flock circled above the Snow genin before launching themselves at Araiki.

The shaggy-haired boy got down onto one knee, bracing himself and forming hand-seals. "_Katon; Go kahen hi_!" Flames roared out from his mouth and spread out, creating a large five-petalled flower. The swallow swarm flew into the fiery barrier, melting instantly.

Maboroshi continued with a new set of hand-seals. "_Kiri Gakure no jutsu_!"

Araiki ended his blazing display as a thick mist rolled over the floor and obscured his sight. On the very edge of his more-than-human hearing, he noticed a light whisper:

"_Magen; Kanpa_..."

Araiki felt like his arms had gone numb suddenly. His hands felt freezing, as did his legs as he knelt on the ground. There was a pounding cold that seemed to radiate from his brain. _It's... a genjutsu... I can break this, easy..._ he thought, feeling like going to sleep. _I can..._ He flexed his fingers. _I can do this..._ Araiki forced his knees to bend and stand up. _I can! _The coldness in his mind disappeared, just as though it had never existed. He whipped around, fists at the ready. He punched forward and felt his knuckles connect with something. Whatever it was, it fell back and let out a sharp yell of pain.

Araiki could just make out Maboroshi's silhouette from the mist.

The other boy spat out a goblet of blood. "How'd you break my genjutsu? That was supposed to immobilise you."

Araiki frowned. "Weak genjutsu like that won't work against me,"

"So you know genjutsu along with your ninjutsu skills then?" asked Maboroshi, slyly searching for information.

"Perhaps I know a bit about genjutsu," Araiki replied ambiguously.

Maboroshi glared, stepping back into the mist and disappearing.

_I can't smell a thing with all the moisture in the air,_ Araiki growled quietly.

"_Hi reikyuu__ no jutsu_!"

Before Araiki had time to react, ice crystals were forming around his body, trapping his legs and arms. The ice swiftly formed over his back and shoulders, wrapping around onto his chest. Araiki felt squeezed and his lungs tight inside the ever-thickening ice.

The Gobi-vessel felt panic start to rise up within him. _Houkou! I'm trapped! _

_Heh heh... what do you expect me to do about it? I'm not giving you any of my help this time around. I taught you if you want to be strong, you have to act it. Heh heh... Little Nekomusume-chan has been doing everything on her own, and she's younger than you. You won't get any recognition unless you prove you're stronger. _

Araiki's eyes widened at that as the ice started to glaze over his face. Unable to move both his arms, he formed a jutsu with one hand, hoping that it would help and not kill him. "_Moeagaru_!"

The crowd above leaned forward in their seats as a jet of flame burst out of the mist and burnt the ceiling above to a crisp. The glow of the flame rushed forward, dispelling the mist around it. A shocked Maboroshi was uncovered in the disappearing mist. He stared in awe as the pillar of flame came for him. A blazing fist struck him in the chest, burning a hole through layers of his clothing until it reached his skin. With the cloth around the hole still burning and his skin charring, Maboroshi was sent flying back into a wall.

The flames surrounding Araiki dissipated. The boy stared down at himself, a look of awe on his face. His clothes were a little singed, but apart from that he was fine.

_Congratulations kid, heh heh... _

Araiki glimpsed up into the stands. Kita was staring down. She clapped with the rest of the genin who were impressed by his fight.

The medical team patted the flames off of Maboroshi. The boy was cringing from the red welt on his chest. Some of the medics shot nervous looks towards Araiki's direction.

In the stands, those who realised what the jutsu was were amazed.

"Rosuto..." Rein looked calm, though her voice was slightly off. "Wasn't that...?"

"'Moeagaru'," whispered Rosuto, his voice just as worried. "A supposed suicide technique... Rank A..."

Behind them, the jounin with the one visible eye had his eyebrow raised high enough that it seemingly disappeared into his hairline. In a blink of an eye, he was gone, not even his dirty book was left behind.

"And it seems we're not the only ones worried there..." Rein's eyes slid back to Rosuto.

* * *

**In a gambling den somewhere a few blocks away... **

Tsunade stared at the small mountain of money that was shoved over in her direction. She chewed her bottom lip self-consciously.

"Shouldn't you be watching the preliminaries, Kakashi?" she asked, not bothering to turn around as she placed another bet.

Another small mountain of money piled up on her side. The woman frowned at it.

"Tsunade-sama, I have something important to report to you." Kakashi's eye glanced around at the gambling den, surveying the people inside. "Talking inside here may not be wise."

"I know that," replied the woman sharply. "Shizune, you take over the next round for me."

Shizune, who was sitting next to her and marvelling at the amount of money snapped out of it. She looked horrified. Tonton squealed as Shizune's grip tightened. "But, but, Tsunade-sama! You know I don't-"

"Alright, alright... just look after the money until I get back then." Tsunade rubbed her temples. Sometimes her first apprentice was too uptight. Standing up, she led the way outside and to an alley to talk. "So, what is this 'report'?"

Kakashi's brow furrowed. "In the last fight I witnessed before I came to you, there was a boy with a certain _talent_. He used the A-rank jutsu 'Moeagaru' without any harm to himself. And though the field was obscured by mist, I heard talking. The opponent had used a genjutsu, with very little affect to the boy."

Tsunade sighed. "Was he from the Grass?"

The jounin blinked. "Yes, he was. How did you know?"

"The night I went to meet with Jouryoku and Benkeino, the two became involved in a betting match. They offered that I even place in a 'bet' of my own. During their talk, it became obvious to me that they meant Jinchuuriki." Tsunade's hand formed a fist, making Kakashi slightly nervous.

Kakashi's eyebrow disappeared up under his hitae-ate again. "The Grass and Stone have Jinchuuriki?"

"Unfortunately so," the Hokage nodded before staring Kakashi in the eye. Her voice was stern. "Go back to the preliminaries and continue to watch. We have discovered one, so only one more to go."

"Tsunade-sama, is it wise to allow our genin to continue in this exam?" Kakashi cringed slightly, praying he hadn't said the wrong thing there.

The woman lowered her eyes for a brief second. "Perhaps if I had known before, I may have tried to stop the children from going... but I don't think they would have listened anyway. I need to trust in their abilities as shinobi of Konoha." After a moment of silence her head snapped up to glare at Kakashi. "Well, get going then! You have a mission to complete!"

Kakashi jumped a little, bowed, and then disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

Tsunade sighed again, wishing she had a bottle of sake. She rounded the corner back into the gambling den.

Shizune was tapping away on a small calculator. "This could pay for all the sake Tsunade-sama drinks in a month!" she exclaimed. She turned around and spotted her teacher glaring down at her. She gave out a small 'eep' of surprise.

"Shizune... can I see you please?"

* * *

**A few minutes later inside Tsunade's trashed motel room...**

Shizune was sulking, her body swinging slightly from the rope she was tied up to the ceiling with. "This is so unfair..." She felt two pairs of eyes staring daggers at her. She 'eep'-ed again as her body turned enough to see Sakura and Ino dangling next to her, though upside down.

"This is so troublesome," muttered Shikamaru, lazily sweeping up the pieces of a broken vase. "I don't see why I have to clean this up. I didn't have anything to do with you guys failing."

Chouji was on his hands and knees mourning at some crushed packets of crisps on the ground. "Poor chips, they stood no chance against Tsunade-sama..."

"Tsunade-sama said she'd give you D-rank missions for the rest of your life if you didn't clean this up," said Sakura, her voice sounded sickly sweet.

"And we'd be stuck up here until you finish it," Ino added, the tone of her voice sounding overly-sugary as well.

There was a second of silence.

"NOW FINISH THE JOB!" the two roared, sending their dangling forms all over the place as they attempted to get at Shikamaru.

The chuunin sighed. "Women are so troublesome..."

* * *

**Back at the Kusa-Nin Main Building...**

"Hyoumei Yume, and Hyuuga Hinata to the floor please!" called the examiner.

"Cheer for me, Sora-kun!" Yume relinquished her grip on Sora's arm as she skipped down to the ledge. She waved cheerfully as she jumped off the edge.

Sora waved half-heartedly until she was gone. He rubbed his arm sorely and pouted. He turned to Kita. "Think she'll win?"

Kita looked thoughtful. "I don't know actually... I've never seen any of her skills..."

Jieichou and Tansei quickly exchanged glances before looking back down to the floor. A girl with features similar to the other Hyuuga walked down the steps to her place. The look in her eyes was a mix of determination and nervousness.

"Go Hinata! Try your best" yelled Kiba from the stands. After a quick check from the medic-nin, he was back in his chair with Akamaru sitting beside him.

Hinata smiled up at the rest of her team- even Neji had a slight look of support on his face. However, although so many of her comrades were there, she missed seeing a particular face in the crowd. _Naruto-kun, I wish you were here to cheer me on... _

Yume smiled happily as her opponent took up position. "Hinata-chan, let's have a good match, okay!"

The dark-haired girl looked startled. She hadn't expected that from her opponent. "Um, okay then." Hinata tried her best to give a shaky smile.

"Match nine; Yume versus Hinata, begin!"

Yume pulled out a scroll from the pouch around her hips and performing hand-seals. Surprisingly enough, the scroll was also pink...

"Better get ready!" chirped Yume, drawing her thumb close to her teeth. Hinata noticed her thumb seemed scarred slightly. In a fluid movement, Yume bit her skin, undid the scroll and ran her bleeding thumb down the paper. "_Kuchiyose:__ Ga Dageki no jutsu_!"

Puffs of smoke appeared in a series of pops above Yume, fading to reveal a large swarm of brown and grey winged insects- moths. The creatures mobbed together and flew at Hinata.

The dark-haired girl hesitated for a brief moment before putting her hands up in a seal. "_Byakugan_..." The veins around her eyes throbbed. She slid into a fighter's stance, the famous Gentle Fist style. Hinata pushed forward with a palm, blue chakra infused in it.

The moths fell around her as she struck them down with her palms, turning into puffs of smoke as they retreated from the Hyuuga.

Yume pouted unhappily as she watched her summons be defeated. She pulled out another scroll from her pouch.

* * *

When Yume pulled out her first scroll, the rest of the Stone genin began to talk.

"Yume's from the Hyoumei clan, they're professional summoners," explained Jieichou, seeing Kita's confused expression. "One reason you never saw her at ninja academy was because she was home-trained."

"But I thought anyone who wanted to be a ninja _had_ to go to the academy." Sora stared with wide orange eyes.

"The Hyoumei clan is an exception," interjected Tansei, arms crossed. "Yume has pretty much been trained from birth. Add that to her family genes and she has an abnormally large amount of chakra for summoning."

Kita raised an eyebrow. "How do 'professional summoners' work exactly?"

"When born," stated Jieichou, "a child from the Hyoumei clan is assigned an animal to act as their main summon or 'guardian'. The two become like life-long partners."

"So the moths are-"

"No, they're not," the grey-haired boy cut Kita off. "The Hyoumei clan works at collecting as many summon contracts with animals as they can. The clan has been collecting since even before the Hidden Stone was built. Some even believe it was the Hyoumei clan that created the 'Kuchiyose' technique."

Sora gave a low whistle. "That's a long time," he commented.

"Yes," nodded Jieichou. "They have such a large collection that they occasionally even allow other Stone ninja to sign contracts to use, though it's not often."

"So, what about those moths again?" asked Kita.

"Whenever a Hyoumei family member accomplishes something, they are given a new contract to sign so they gain additional summons. Yume got the moth contract at her last birthday I believe." Jieichou paused for a second to observe the new scroll Yume had taken out. "Hm, this could be interesting... that's the scroll she got just before she graduated..."

"Which one is that?" asked Sora.

Tansei's brown eyes flashed over at Sora momentarily. "Remember when we they told us that to graduate we had to know at least one Doton jutsu...?" He nodded towards Yume to signal them to watch for the answer.

Sora and Kita kept their eyes focussed on Yume.

* * *

Once again, Yume ran her thumb down the scroll, leaving a trail of blood along it. She quickly drew the paper back up into the casing and performed hand-seals with it. "_Kuchiyose; Doton; Mujina no jinkoujishin_!" She slammed the scroll down onto the floor, where lines of writing flowed out and into the cracks of the tiles.

The ground began to shake. Hinata stumbled slightly as the tiles rolled in waves. People in the stands instinctively grabbed onto the nearest stable object and watched with wide eyes.

Yume giggled. "It'll be hard to run away from something like this."

* * *

**A/N: **Hey, have you guys seen the new fanfic I put up? It's a load of crack... You can probably guess I got the inspiration for writing it from that certain part in the middle of this. 

**Jutsu, ect. used: **

Any jutsu not found on this list can be found on Wikipedia. And in the case of Yume's last jutsu, it will be explained next chapter (because it would spoil it otherwise, and I'm evil in that way). There is also a jutsu in the chapter (_Hi reikyuu_) which was used before, so you'd have to go back and search for it if you've forgotten (more evilness!).

**Katon; Go kahen hi **_(Fire release; Five petal fire)_(Ninjutsu) (Fire element) (C or B rank) The user spews forth a fiery barrier in the shape of a five-petalled flower. Mainly used for defence because of its short distance. This jutsu can range between either rank C or B, depending on the size and ferocity of it.

**Magen; Kanpa **_(Demonic Illusion; Cold Wave)_(Genjutsu) (C rank) Affects the target's sense of feeling by making them feel as though they are slowly freezing to death. The illusion manipulates the brain to feel so cold that it has to shut down. However, the opponent must usually feel like they are in a cold climate for the technique to work effectively.

**Moeagaru **_(Burst into Flames)_(Ninjutsu) (A rank) A kinjutsu suicide technique that causes the user to, in simplest terms possible, spontaneously combust.

It is quite unknown where Araiki learned this technique from, though many would have to presume it was from his father, who coveted the power of the Gobi so much that he would rather have his child die than fall into the hands of someone else to use.

**Kuchiyose: Ga Dageki no jutsu **_(Summoning; Moth Strike)_(Ninjutsu) (Summoning) (C rank) Summons a small army of moths to fly at the opponent. Mostly used for a distraction.

**I'll try hard for a new chapter soon, so hang in there! **


	33. Refusal to Give up

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **-sigh- Hm... yeah, enjoy...

**Q- Why'd you include the Snow Village in your story? **

**A-** Good question... I guess I got inspired after seeing the first Naruto movie. I saw it before I started this fic actually (aaaages ago), so they were always in my mind. The Snow is a pretty interesting village, considering that they're well-known for their advances in technology. That's why I gave Kasukako the awesome bazooka.

**Questions for the characters! **

**Q- Yume: What is with you and pink? **

**Yume-** Everyone's got a favourite colour! I just want to make sure everyone knows what it is! Pink is so pretty...

* * *

**_Chapter 33: Refusal to Give up _**

The tiles cracked underneath Hinata. The girl's eyes widened as they were smashed apart from below and a badger larger than any she had seen before emerged like a whale from water.

Hinata was thrown onto the creature's back as it flipped her into the air. She cringed and held on tightly to the badger's black and white fur. Dirt and dust flew everywhere, showering the participants and many of the people in the stands.

"My building!" exclaimed Jouryoku, though his voice was lost in the chaos below.

Hinata blinked her Byakugan eyes open and gave a cry as the badger smashed back into the floor, claws scraping away at the ground as it created a tunnel. She put her head down as a wave of dirt and broken tile landed on her. Her heart started to thump harder as she realised was going to get dragged with this thing unless she did something!

Yume held an arm over her eyes as dust was sent over her. When it settled she looked around, seeing nothing but two large holes in the ground where her badger had appeared and disappeared.

Hinata had vanished.

The examiner glanced around, unsure what to do.

Suddenly, the ground was split apart again and a pained roar resonated through the building and tunnel. Yume's badger burst out and fell down, apparently wounded. In a burst of smoke it departed.

A figure walked out of the dust, coughing. Hinata's hands glowed with blue chakra on top of the layers of dirt that covered her. Her lavender-pearl eyes looked unwavering.

Yume frowned, albeit with a grin. It was rare for any genin to be able to survive that attack.

_I'm not giving up!_ thought Hinata, _I have to show how strong I am! _

"You're really strong, Hinata-chan!" smiled Yume. "I've had lots of fun playing with you!"

"Uh, playing?" Hinata asked, startled.

The blonde girl nodded. "That badger isn't my strongest summon! Not by far!" Yume bit her other thumb and used both to run streaks of red down her forearms. Her hands flared up with chakra as she performed hand-seals. "_Kuchiyose no jutsu_!"

She placed both hands on the ground and disappeared within a large cloud of smoke.

Hinata's eyes widened as her Byakugan caught sight of what Yume had summoned.

"Say hello to my little friend, Hogosha-kun!" giggled Yume as the smoke faded. She stood atop a creature at least five metres tall and armoured like a tank. The creature narrowed its black eyes and snorted, flinging up a cloud of dust.

The examiner stepped back fearfully. He'd never seen a rhinoceros in real life before, and never one so big either. And never one that wore a pink collar either...

"Yume-sama!" The rhino pawed at the ground and tossed his head. "You made the finals?"

"No, not yet, Hogosha-kun!" Yume replied. "But we have to beat this girl if we want to!"

Hogosha squinted to look down at Hinata. "She's rather scrawny, isn't she?"

Hinata took a sharp intake of breath... things were looking bad. And had that animal just insulted her?

"But she's pretty strong, Hogosha-kun. So let's beat her!" Yume sat down behind the pink collar and patted her summon to go.

"Anything for you, Yume-sama!" Hogosha let out a deep honk of a roar and took off.

Hinata gave a cry and leapt out of the way, just avoiding getting run down. She backed up closer to the wall. Hogosha ground to a halt and spun around. He waited a moment before charging forward again.

_I'll have to use it or else I'll be crushed,_ thought Hinata hurriedly. Blue chakra burst around Hinata's hands. She breathed quietly, waiting for the right moment before the rhino hit. A few feet before her and she began her plan. "_Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho_!"

In a blur of motion, a glowing net completely covered Hinata. Her hands swept around her as it glowed brighter and brighter. There was no time for Yume and Hogosha to stop or swerve.

Instead of bouncing off though, Hogosha ploughed right into it. The ground rumbled as there was a loud crack, followed by the sounds of crumbling wall. Jouryoku retreated from his balcony as it began to slant. The concrete ledge fell off its metal connections and onto the ground with a crash.

The Konoha genin all ran to the railing.

"Hinata!" yelled Kiba. Akamaru barked madly.

At the bottom of the wall there was a large hole. The wall opened up to the outside where a training field was. Without a second thought, the Konoha genin leapt to the ground and ran outside. Soon they were followed by the Iwa genin and then the rest of the crowd in the stands.

Yume and Hinata were lying on the ground not far from each other.

"Yume-sama!" exclaimed Hogosha, nudging his summoner softly. The rhino was covered in cuts around his face and snout. Some of his horn had somehow gotten chopped clean off during the incident as well.

"Disqualified!" yelled a voice. Jouryoku ran outside looking furious. "I deem both these participants to be disqualified!"

"What?" yelled someone in the crowd, presumably Kiba as it was followed by a bark. "How come?"

The Grass Leader fell silent for a second. "They... they went out of bounds! That's what!"

"You just made that up!" yelled someone else in the crowd of genin.

"No, he didn't," said the examiner, stepping up. He was looking through a small book. "The rules state that participants can not leave the stadium or field. If they do, they are instantly disqualified."

Jouryoku looked satisfied. The rest of the crowd apart from the Grass Sisters looked extremely displeased however.

Hogosha grumbled loudly and snorted. He felt like trampling down that green-skinned man to a pancake. He felt a pat on his head and turned his eye to see Tansei.

"Don't worry, Hogosha. We'll take care of her," Tansei assured him. He and Jieichou went over to put Yume's arms over their shoulders.

"Have you said sorry to Yume yet, Tansei-san?" asked Hogosha.

Tansei's eyes flickered away for a second. "Later, Hogosha... You should get going back to Iwagakure. Yume's father will fix you back up."

The rhino snorted. "Alright... Tell Yume-sama I'm sorry we didn't win!" He disappeared in a large puff of smoke.

Tansei sighed softly and helped Jieichou drag Yume over to the others.

* * *

Neji picked his cousin up his arms and took her over to a nearby tree where it was shadier.

"Hey, Hinata!" Kiba leaned over her. "Hinata, wake up!"

"Yelling into her ear isn't going to help, Kiba," Tenten scowled.

Akamaru gave a bark and licked Hinata on the face. The girl's eyes opened and she groaned. "Oh... Akamaru-kun..." She sat up and patted the dog. She looked around at her team-mates. "What happened?"

Everyone fell silent for a second.

"You were disqualified, Hinata-sama," Neji informed her. "You went out of bounds..."

"Oh..." whispered Hinata softly. Her hands clenched at the grass under her... and she had tried so hard too... all that and she had been disqualified...

"Hey, Hinata! You were awesome!" exclaimed Kiba suddenly, catching the girl's attention. "You took on a huge beaver-"

"Badger..." interrupted Shino, pushing his glasses up his nose again.

"_Badger_," Kiba rolled his eyes.

"And you withstood that rhino!" added Tenten. "I wouldn't have been able to do that!"

Hinata turned as a hand landed on her shoulder. Neji looked at her, his usually cold white eyes seemed warmer.

"You've become stronger, Hinata-sama."

The Hyuuga heir's eyes widened. A smile tugged at her lips and she blinked away tears. "Thank you, Neji-nii-san... everyone..."

The only thing that could have made her happier was if Naruto had been there... but even in his absence, Hinata felt like he knew she had fulfilled a silent promise to him.

* * *

"Ow... ow!" yelped Yume as a medic inspected a large bump on her head.

"Hm, must have gotten it going through that wall..." mumbled the medic, applying some salve to it. "It should be okay in a few hours." The medic stood up and left.

"Aw, disqualified?" Yume pouted, her bright pink eyes disappointed. "Not fair... and I wanted to join Sora-kun in the finals too!" She closed her eyes, though a small glint of pink could be seen under her eyelashes as tried to sneak a look at Tansei.

Sora groaned.

Tansei squeezed his fists tightly before grabbing Yume by her shoulders. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?"

Sora and Kita looked surprised. Jieichou didn't react at all, like he had known it was coming.

Yume faced Tansei. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to say that?"

"Long enough... I know..." The green-haired boy's head slumped. "I shouldn't have said those stupid things about you..."

For once, Yume's smile seemed as genuine as it could get. "I forgive you."

"So, wait..." interrupted Sora. "All this time...?"

Yume grinned and playfully stuck out her tongue. "Sorry, cutie-pie! I was just using you to get Tansei jealous."

Tansei let go of Yume's shoulders and went to thump his head against a tree for a few minutes. "I just had to give in to her! But stupid Sora... arg!"

"But-but..." Sora looked dumb-founded, pointing back and forth and the pair. "How come I couldn't sense that from your thoughts?"

The pink-clad girl giggled. "Your sister is pretty helpful, you know? She shielded my mind from you reading anything I didn't want you too."

_That explains all the pink_, thought Kita with a raised eyebrow.

Sora threw his hands up. "I can't believe this! All this time I thought you were really into me and it was some ploy!"

"Them's the breaks, Sora-kuuun," smirked Yume with a wink. "Now, if you don't mind, I've gotta do something." She winked at everyone and took off towards the Konoha genin.

Kita patted Sora on the shoulder comfortingly. Sora cried silent tears.

"I need a hug... where's Yanagi-chan when I need her?"

* * *

"Hinata-chan!" called a voice.

Hinata looked up and saw a pink figure running towards her. The dark-haired girl wiped her eyes dry as Yume approached.

"It's a bummer we both got disqualified, huh?" asked Yume, scratching the back of her neck.

"Oh... yeah..." replied Hinata unsure of why the girl was there.

Yume stuck out a hand. "Good match, don't you think? You must be really strong if you were able to survive Hogosha's charging attack like that!"

Hinata blinked. The girl had just said she was _strong_... It was an honest opinion, from an opponent no less. Hinata carefully put her hand out and shook. "Um, and you were strong too," she offered.

"Nah... not me," Yume waved her hands. "I still have a long way to go with Hogosha. And you showed me that I shouldn't rely on my summons so much. If someone were to beat them like you did, I wouldn't be able to depend upon myself for backup! I'm going to train hard. Maybe we'll meet next exam?" She smiled.

Hinata smiled back at Yume's words. "Uh, that would be nice," she nodded.

* * *

Rosuto put a palm to his forehead. "This just keeps getting worse and worse..." he muttered. 

"So only one of mine will make it through to the next round," sighed Rein, noticing the Konoha jounin had reappeared (and was marvelling at the hole in the wall). "That's quite a disappointment..."

Rosuto suddenly smirked at her. "I guess that means my team is better than yours."

The purple-haired jounin placed her hands on her hips. "You've only gotten one so far as well. And Kita still hasn't fought."

"Oh, I get the feeling she'll win," he replied.

"If she wins, I'll owe you a dinner then," Rein bet, folding her arms.

Rosuto hid his face and grinned. _A dinner alone with Rein! Yes! _

_I just know I'm going to resent that..._ thought Rein._ But what the hell... _

* * *

An examiner walked over to the Grass Leader, looking worried. "Jouryoku-sama... what will we do now? The main hall is completely decimated."

"I know that..." he grumbled, inspecting the damage of the wall. A team of Grass chuunin had gone to work on it instantly, throwing vine jutsu up over the crumbling wall to prevent further damage. "My poor building... it took ages for the plans to go through council as well." He groaned unhappily.

"Sir, should we continue the matches out here then?" suggested the examiner, scanning the area. "The training court is roughly the same size as the inside hall. It would do just as well."

Jouryoku looked over to where all the genin and some of their teachers were standing around. They hadn't noticed they were inside an outlined court. The chuunin had been right in his estimate- it was at least the size of the floor inside the hall.

"Hm, alright then, we'll continue outside then," he confirmed before sighing and scratching his chin. "Let's hope these next few matches go quickly so we can head on over to the stadium already. I had been hoping to have been there at least an hour ago. The VIPs will be getting impatient. Not to mention the _view _isn't so well from out here."

"We'll organise this quickly as possible then, sir." The examiner nodded and approached the crowd to address them. "The hall has been damaged too much to continue inside, so we will conclude the rest of the matches out here. If you look down you'll see the lines. If you'd go stand behind them, then we can start again, thank you."

The crowd quickly moved to the sidelines, though amongst much grumbling and complaining.

"Your match is after this one, Kita," commented Sora as the groups moved.

Kita rubbed her temples sorely. "Yeah..." she nodded, letting her hands fall down and turning to where she heard the Grass Sisters. The trio were laughing again. Kita's ears could pick up that they were giggling over how 'boring' the last match was and how 'weak' the competitors were... just like those freaks they had found struggling at the lake... Her ears flattened down angrily. She couldn't wait for her turn... Kita grinned for a second as she thought about it. Something just made her want to flick her claws out and draw blood from those girls' necks...

"Sabaku no Gaara and Hatsuyukiwo Kasukako to the field please!" announced the examiner.

* * *

The dark-eyed boy took position on the new field, his arms folded as he looked on with cold indifference when his opponent walked over.

Kasukako's face was dark with anger. "You're in my way! I'll beat you down into a bloody pulp! The sooner I take you out, the sooner I can take out that Mitsukai-girl for what she did to Hyouden-san!"

Gaara's hand twitched. His jade eyes flickered over to Kita for a brief moment. The silver-haired girl seemed ticked-off something bad... though she hadn't seemed to have noticed the threat from his opponent- instead glaring over at a group of giggling girls that looked all the same. Gaara's eyes settled back on Kasukako. If Kita hadn't even reacted to this loud-mouthed little girl, then he had no need to worry about her childish 'beat you down into a bloody pulp' threats. He shifted to cross his arms confidently; this would probably be the easiest match he'd ever competed in.

"Match ten; Gaara versus Kasukako, begin!"

The snow genin pulled out a scroll and rolled out the paper. Waving her hand over the central symbol, a cloud of smoke appeared and swept away to reveal Kasukako's main weapon- the strange, long weapon she had used against Kita. Another wave of her hand over the scroll and a harpoon-kunai appeared. In a swift motion she loaded it into the tube and aimed straight at Gaara.

The older boy made no attempts at moving when she fired.

Kasukako grinned. This match was over...

The harpoon fell with a clank on the floor. A dome of sand had reared up, blocking it from even nearing Gaara. The sand rose up in a wave and crashed down upon her.

The girl screamed furiously as her harpoon launcher was buried and herself covered up to her head in sand.

Gaara lifted up a hand and a tendril of sand wrapped around her mouth, cutting off her curses and screams. He held his steady, fingers ready to curl. He looked over at the examiner. "This girl has been defeated, announce it."

The examiner looked hesitant on the situation.

Gaara curled his fingers a little more, making Kasukako struggle as she tried to breathe. "Announce it," he repeated sternly.

"Winner, Gaara!" yelled the examiner instantly.

The sand unwrapped from around Kasukako and retreated back into Gaara's gourd. The girl fell to the ground, coughing and spluttering up sand. She jerked her head up at Gaara and glared. "It wasn't supposed to go this way!" She turned to Kita and got to her feet, pulling out a kunai. She ran at the silver-haired girl, eyes full of hatred.

Kita slowly twisted around to see the younger girl running at her. Her pupils retracted into slits and Kita ran her tongue over her teeth. For some reason, all she could think about was blood...

"You'll regret what you did to Hyouden-san!" screamed Kasukako, her arm coming down with the kunai.

* * *

**A/N: **Um... please don't kill me... 

**Names:**

_Hogosha:_ Means 'Guardian'.

**Jutsu, ect. used: **

Any jutsu not found on this list can be found on Wikipedia. From the previous chapter-

**Kuchiyose: Doton; Mujina no jinkoujishin **_(Summoning: Earth release; Artificial Earthquake of the Badger)_(Ninjutsu) (Summoning) (Earth element) Summons a badger under the opponent's feet and bursts out as a surprise attack.

**Hope you guys liked that chapter... leave a review! **


	34. Losing It

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Didn't quite hit the 3000 words on the main body of this chapter, I apologise. But never mind, this chapter kicks ass anyway.

**Q- If you can use any weapons ever invented in the NINJA world, what would you use? **

**A- **I dunno really... I'd like to stick to using my hands and feet- those are the best weapons you can rely on. A weapon I wish I could have that's not in the ninja world is a pair of something called 'Emei Piercers'. Look them up if you want, they're quite interesting and nifty.

**Questions for the characters! **

Sorry, I'm not going to answer all of the questions this week. Need to get back to assignments -dies-

**Q- Sora: Dude, you've just been used, how do you feel? **

**Sora- **My heart has been served... but at least this means I have more time for Yanagi-chan, haha!

**Q- Tansei: ...So, when did you start going out with Yume? **

**Tansei- **We're not really going out or anything really... uh, yeah, we're not official I guess you'd say...

* * *

**_Chapter 34: Losing It _**

"You'll regret what you did to Hyouden-san!" screamed Kasukako, her arm coming down with the kunai.

Suddenly her arm was caught was a vine of sand. She was jerked backwards and sent flying into the air. The kunai dug into the grass as it was dropped.

Gaara's eyes slid back forward and he continued to walk.

A group of chuunin appeared around Kasukako and apprehended her. The girl held her arm tightly- it had been broken when she had been thrown back.

"It wasn't supposed to go this way!" she protested as the chuunin dragged her away from the crowd. "I was going to repay Hyouden-san for saving my life once!" She struggled harder as she was dragged past Gaara. She spat at him. "You ruined everything!"

Gaara closed his eyes. "You brought this upon yourself..." he replied coolly.

Kasukako screamed angrily before the chuunin and her disappeared from the scene.

The crowd stayed silent for a few seconds after she was hauled away.

"Uh... Mitsukai Kita and Ouritsu Hanbiraki to the, um, to the field please..." The examiner said, wishing this would all be over soon.

The youngest and oldest of the Grass Sisters cheered as their sister walked over, a smirk on her face.

"This will be pretty quick," commented Hanbiraki. She placed a hand on her hip and waved her hand over her mouth quickly as she stifled a yawn.

There was a soft 'shk' as Kita's fingernails slid out into claws.

Hanbiraki paused momentarily as Kita smiled at her with fanged canines.

Kita's purple eyes stayed trained on Hanbiraki. "People like you make me sick," she hissed.

"Oh, and I guess you're such a saint to spill that righteousness crap on me?" scoffed the burgundy-haired girl.

"Maybe... But at least I'm not above seeking revenge for wrong-doings." She dug around in her side pouch and held up a thorn between her claws. "I found this embedded in a severed hand by the lake. I'm sure you and your sisters remember how that got there."

"Survival of the fittest, you know?" glared Hanbiraki with a raised eyebrow. "They got what was coming to them."

Kita flicked the thorn away, cracking the bones in her fingers in the process. "And now you'll get what was coming as well."

The examiner raised his hand. "Match eleven; Kita versus Hanbiraki, begin!" He stepped back.

As quickly as her older sister had done, Hanbiraki pulled her sash off, a cloud of smoke turning it into its true form. She whipped her hand forward, the thorny vine following the swift motion.

Kita watched the vine carefully, her feline eyes taking in all the movement. Just before it came down upon her, she stepped to the left. The vine cracked in the empty air as it reached its end. Kita smirked. "You can't hurt me... if you can't touch me..."

"_Divide_!" yelled Hanbiraki. The vine split in half. Hanbiraki gripped both new ends and flung her arms out wide.

The flesh on Kita's shoulder was torn as one of the vines ran across her. The girl lifted a hand up to the wound and let blood dribble onto her palm. Kita stared down at it briefly before squeezing her hand tight, letting the pooled blood drip out to the ground.

She fell down onto all fours suddenly, letting the vine pass loudly overhead before leaping out of the way of the second vine. She dived over the first one again and rolled away from the second as it came down. The vines continued to hit nothing but air.

Hanbiraki's jaw clenched tight as she continued her onslaught, but as quick as she flailed her whips, the other girl was as quick to dodge them. She flipped up both of the vines at the same time and brought them down hard, trapping Kita in between them. "_Toge Renda_!" she shouted. Thorns flew out from either side. Those on the sidelines had to duck out of the way as the projectiles came their way.

Kita had nowhere to go in between the short distance. Her claws flared out and she slashed at a group of the thorns, flinging them away. However, not all could be blocked as some dug themselves in her arms. A cluster flew up and stuck into the side of her face. Blood ran down over her brow and into her eye, dripping down like tears. Kita spat out the blood that streamed into her mouth and she frowned. "This isn't the blood I want..." she whispered quietly, purple eyes focussing on Hanbiraki who was drawing her whips back behind her head, ready for the next attack.

"Ha! Had enough yet?" asked the Grass Sister, grinning.

Kita pulled the thorns out of her face and arms. She looked a mess now, covered in blood. Her top was stained with it. Kita brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. "I've had enough of playing," she announced, ears flattening down.

"We're not playing here!" yelled Hanbiraki, bringing the vines down again. They hit empty space- Kita had disappeared into thin-air.

A clawed hand latched onto the side of the girl's face.

_Fa-fast!_ thought the Grass Sister, mouth slightly open in surprise.

Kita pushed down, slamming Hanbiraki's head into the ground. She stepped on her wrists, making it impossible to do any jutsu. Quickly she changed her grip to around the girl's throat.

_Cut it... come on... tear her throat out... you wanted her blood, right...? Let it flow out so you can taste it... it'll make you feel alive... more alive than ever before..._

Kita's ears twitched as the voice ran through her head. Yes... she wanted the girl's blood... There was no justification for revenge anymore; all she wanted was that blood...

Hanbiraki stared up at the cat-eared girl looming over her, her hand seized around her throat. The points of the girl's claws dug into her flesh, drawing blood.

Kita's gaze slowly turned down to stare into Hanbiraki's green eyes.

For once, Hanbiraki felt true fear. These eyes weren't those of a human- more like a wild animal's. She trembled.

Kita grinned widely, fangs flashing. "Fear only makes the blood sweeter," she purred, swapping hands so she could lick the blood off of the tips of her claws. As her tongue met the red liquid, her eyes seemed to go blank, her pupils contracting into non-existence.

_More... she's your prey... you can't let prey live... Hurry before it's stolen from you... _

The cat-eared girl's claws slid out further at the sounds of the voice in her head. Hanbiraki struggled as pain came from her throat. It was getting harder to breathe.

Someone from the Iwa group shouted from the sidelines at Kita.

The girl didn't respond- her gaze was locked directly on Hanbiraki's throat. She smiled cruelly, baring larger fangs. Her skin rippled suddenly, like a stone thrown into a pond. Flashes of dark fur with silver markings appeared and disappeared between the ripples, along with a tail that waved to and fro playfully.

Hanbiraki's eyes were frozen with fear.

There was a chaos of noise around her, but Kita didn't seem to notice or hear. In the noise, someone was calling her name.

Kita hissed and brought a hand up, claws extended as far as they could go. Dark chakra flared up around her as her flesh continued to ripple uncertainly between human and animal.

"Kita!"

Before she could strike, a collection of hands and arms surrounded her, wrapping around and pulling her away.

Kita gave a half-human screech as she was pulled to the ground and pinned down.

"Kita! Get a hold of yourself!" called a shaky voice. "Get out of that form right now!" A hand slapped her hard in the face.

"...Sora?" Claws and ears melted away. The rippling ended and Kita's pupils returned to normal. The human girl blinked, seeing Sora and the rest of the Iwa genin there as well, even Rein's team.

"It's alright now, guys. You can get up." Sora's frame shook as he breathed a sigh of relief. _I don't want a repeat of that time before when Nibi took over... it's just too scary. _

Kita was let go and allowed to sit up. She froze as she recounted what had just transpired. She leapt up to look over at Hanbiraki. The girl was still lying on the ground. A team of medics had jumped in to see if she was alright, as well as her father. She was, just some cuts on her neck. Kita fell back down to her knees. "Oh Kami-sama," she whispered fearfully, hands tearing up the grass underneath her. "I can't believe I let myself do that... and go so far..."

"Do you know how worried you made us?" yelled Sora suddenly, whipping around at her. "I thought you were going to go on some blood-lust rampage!"

"I'm... I'm so sorry..." Kita quickly bowed from her sitting position, her forehead touching the ground and her eyes squeezed shut tightly. "I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to..." Blood dripped from her face onto the grass.

"Disqualified! I want her disqualified!" roared Jouryoku, standing up and pointing over at Kita who was still hunched over on the grass.

Rosuto gave both a quick glance over and stepped up. "On what grounds?" he asked.

Jouryoku faltered. "Uh..." He turned to the examiner.

"Well... she didn't really kill anyone... and Hanbiraki-chan does seem to be too out of it to continue on." The examiner shrugged apologetically. "I'm sorry, Jouryoku-sama, but since there's no proper grounds for disqualification this one will have to pass. Unless the participant wishes to disqualify themself, of course..." He looked over at Kita.

Jouryoku looked down his nose at the girl.

"I'm not going to quit right now!" The girl's head jerked up, staring at them both. _I'll just stay in this form then, _she thought._ Something's wrong... that voice... was that you Nibi? But it seemed so much different than when you usually talk to me... Maybe... Maybe it was my own voic-... No, it couldn't have been... Damn it... I hate you so much Nibi..._

The examiner turned around. "Winner, Mitsukai Kita."

There were a few signs of visible worry amongst the crowd.

The jounin from the Leaf had disappeared again as well...

"Come on, Kita, let's get you cleaned up." Rosuto offered a hand to his student. "We don't want you bleeding to death on the ground. Rein, we'll meet you at the stadium... oh, and you owe me a dinner."

Rein crossed her arms. "Feh, fine then..." She smirked.

Kita took Rosuto's hand and gave a shaky grin. "Thanks, Rosuto-sensei." She let him help her over to the building and inside towards the medical centre. As she passed Gaara she took a side-glance at him, the older boy stared down at the ground with a slight look of worried nostalgia on his face.

"Tsuiraku Uteki and Ouritsu Tsubomi to the field please!" called the examiner behind them. "Final match, number twelve, begin!"

* * *

Araiki's hand rose into the air slightly. He closed it softly. _Is that how I look to the outside world when I let Houkou take over? _

Houkou's low voice snickered. _So, kid... what did you think of that little display? Not exactly the perfect person you first thought she was, eh? Heh heh... _

_It's alright that's she's not perfect,_ replied Araiki, staring down at the ground and scuffing his feet against the grass. _She's just a lot more like me than I thought..._ He blushed.

_A few more degrees of separation have been crossed off then... heh heh... _

There was a shriek and a flash. Araiki looked up, the final match was over. The winner was a boy with bright golden hair. His dark robe billowed out behind him as he left the field. The last Grass Sister was lying on the ground, defeated. She twitched uneasily.

"That concludes the first round of eliminations!" shouted the examiner. "Those who lost, please make your way to the stadium if you wish to continue watching, and take a place in the allocated seating. Those who won, also make your way to the stadium, and find the allocated entry. You will receive more instructions on arrival. You have forty minutes to prepare and arrive there on time!" The examiner turned around and pumped his arm happily- his shift as examiner was over.

* * *

**Inside the medical centre...**

Kita gingerly touched the side of her head after the medic had healed her. The flesh still seemed a little tender.

"Here." Sora passed Kita a damp towel to wipe her face with.

"Thanks," Kita mumbled and dabbed the blood off. She sighed and glanced over at her team-mate. "I'm sorry... I know I freaked you out there..."

The blue-haired boy leaned against the examination table. "It's okay now. I was just so worried about... well, you know. I didn't want _that_ happening again..."

"I'm trying my hardest to control myself, but it's so difficult," explained Kita softly. "At the moment, I'm just too young still. I can barely keep a grip on myself."

"I don't quite get it..." Sora scratched the back of his head.

"We're still growing," Kita looked down at her hands. "My body is still too frail for Nibi's power in a sense. I have to be so careful because of it." She picked up a wooden tongue depressor off of the table and snapped it in half. "Look, imagine this half is me, and the other half is the Nekomata." She handed the 'Nekomata' half to Sora.

"Um, okay... so it's equal?" Sora inspected the half curiously. "But that'd mean you have control, wouldn't it?"

Kita snapped her half in two again. "Wrong..." she replied, holding up the two new halves. "Now, imagine this half is me, the human me, and the other half is the cat me. Until quite recently, it was very different, and there was even more to the feline side."

"So you had even less control _before_ two days ago?" Sora asked with a startled look.

"Why do you think I stayed with Gaara for so long?" Kita closed her eyes sadly. "In the early days when I was trying to work out the Nekomusume henge it happened all the time... if Gaara hadn't been there I don't know what I would have done." She dropped the human quarter of the stick on the floor and turned the feline quarter over in her hands. "It's this part that causes so much pain and trouble." Kita dropped the other part of the tongue depressor onto the floor. "Sora, can you leave me alone for a minute, I need some time to think..."

"Uh, alright... I'll run back to the hotel and get you some new clothes too." Sora gave Kita a worried look and exited the room, gently closing the door behind him. Outside, he looked down at the half still in his hands. He squeezed his hand tight, breaking it again.

_Although we don't really seem to realise it physically, _thought Kita slowly,_ Nibi and I are constantly fighting for control over that feline part. Our chakra continues to bleed into it to compensate for each other's halves living together. But sometimes my chakra isn't strong enough... It's complicated really... but with all the mixing of our chakra, it's almost like there's just more to just me and Nibi now... like something else is there apart from it... but what is it? _

Kita massaged her temples again. There was a buzzing in the back of her head.

* * *

**In an alley not too far from the stadium...**

"Damn it..." muttered Tsunade, biting on her thumbnail. "I should have realised it before... the Nekomata..."

Kakashi stood against the wall, hands in pockets. "Is it worse than the Gobi?"

"In terms of raw chakra, no..." the Hokage shook her head. "But in terms of ability and raw strength, it was quite feared... almost as much as the Kyuubi. I read old stories of it where it said that it could cause death with just a look if it wanted, although it was restricted by the Shinigami from doing so."

The jounin before her looked concerned. "So this bijuu's Jinchuuriki could possibly...?"

"I don't believe she would have the ability to just instantly kill anyone she wished. The Nekomata's powers should be too suppressed for that, making the abilities not worthy enough to be used in battle. I would say she would rely on the raw strength of it, which is worrying enough as it is." She sighed, feeling her age suddenly. "What was the name of this girl from Iwa then?"

"Mitsukai Kita," replied Kakashi.

Tsunade went silent.

"Hokage-sama?" asked Kakashi, stepping forward.

"Screw the Nekomata abilities..." breathed Tsunade, eyes wide. "That girl is already a monster... I thought all the Mitsukai clan was wiped out in the last war..." She swore loudly and grabbed Kakashi's sleeve. He made a sound of protest until Tsunade spoke. "We're going to go find that idiot of a Tsuchikage and ask him what the hell he was thinking."

* * *

**A/N: **Surprised? 

**Jutsu, ect. used: **

**Toge Renda **_(Thorn Barrage)_(Weapon Skill) An ability created by the Grass Sisters, it allows them to shoot projectile thorns out from their vine whips.

**Yay, leave a review, y'all! **


	35. Elimination Two

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Sorry, I meant to actually update this a few days ago, but I came down with a killer cold and my brain felt like it was being sapped of all creative energy...bleh.

**Q- Will Naruto appear in this fanfic? **

**A-** I know, I know... a lot of you have been asking that for a while now along with the 'Where is Sasuke?' question. All you have to know is that I'm working on it. It's hard to try and find a way for people to meet when you don't know where they are.

**Questions for the characters! **

**Q- Rindou:** How is Shuuki a pervert exactly?

**Rindou-** He just is! He's always blushing whenever he thinks I'm not looking. He had better not be staring at my butt...

**Q- Masakari:** How does is feel that your two little sisters got TOTALLY OWNED!

**Masakari-** Although I wish they were in the finals with me, it just means I'll have to finish off what they couldn't handle.

**Q- Tsuchikage: Are you worried now that everyone knows about Kita, including Tsunade? **

**Benkeino-** I'm not worried at all. It just shows that we're serious and the Stone is not something to be made fun of. Having power and respect is one of the most important things in the realm of the ninja.****

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 35: Elimination Two _**

The stadium was filled with excited chatter as the crowd eagerly awaited the next round of eliminations. Many talked about business and how the matches would affect their future decisions. Others whispered rumours to each other about the kinds of things they would see.

At the very top floor of the stadium, there were a trio of ornately carved wooden chairs. A large man with dark green hair sat on the far end in the line. Despite it being a formal affair, the man wore his white robe loosely, revealing a black tank top, camouflage pants, and large black boots that were caked in mud. The man placed his feet on the bar in front of him and munched on a hot dog.

"Benkeino!"

The Tsuchikage's dark eyes shifted to glance beside him. "Ah, hello there Tsunade-dono... Not very respectful in our titles today, are we?"

"Can it, Benkeino." Tsunade's green robe billowed out behind her as she stormed over. Her light brown eyes were burning with fury. A jounin with silver hair stood a few feet behind her. "I want a word with you- Right now!"

The man stuffed the last of the hot dog into his mouth and gulped it down. He pounded on his chest for a moment while it passed. "Alright then," He stood up and grabbed his official Tsuchikage hat, which had been hanging off of the chair back. "What's the topic then?"

The Hokage looked down at the crowded stadium then around where they stood. She spotted a nearby door and opened it. A group of cleaners were inside having a break. "Out," she ordered.

The janitors all shot each other nervous looks before they quickly filed out.

Tsunade stomped inside with Benkeino following behind. The woman whipped around as soon as the door closed. "Why did you seal the Nibi inside of a Mitsukai child!" she demanded suddenly.

Benkeino gave a wistful look at her. He had expected this question to come up sometime during this exam... "If a friend came to you, and asked you to save his only child," Benkeino's dark eyes stared into Tsunade's. "What would you do?"

Tsunade opened her mouth to argue back, but found she wasn't sure what to respond with.

"Kita-chan is the last of her bloodline," he continued. "Her mother died before she was born from illness. Not even the best of our medics could save her, or her child."

"So you used the Nekomata to save the child from death..." Tsunade frowned. "Then why didn't you let her die then instead of resorting to using the Nekomata! Why put such a burden on her!"

Benkeino raised an eyebrow. "You seem awfully concerned over her, considering you don't even know her. You could have just presumed it was for power, yet you ask why we put a burden on her."

"That doesn't matter!" Tsunade turned around, crossing her arms. She felt so confused inside about it... though it was true she didn't know this child, she felt sympathy for her. She would have been a lot similar to Naruto probably... and even Gaara too, she had heard his story.

But then again... she hated that child at the same time too...

* * *

**Flashback... **

"Tsu... nade..." whispered a choked voice.

The blonde-haired woman looked down, tears in her eyes and blood and mud smeared all over her face. Rain pounded down heavily from the sky as the clouds broke their silence, soaking everything including the woman and the man on the ground before her.

"I... don't want to die yet..." Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked up at the woman who had once kissed him and entrusted him with a precious treasure. "There are so many things... I haven't accomplished yet..." The man coughed, blood splattering out onto the woman's hands that were on his chest.

"Stop talking Dan!" yelled Tsunade desperately, pushing green chakra into his body.

The other two ninja beside them held grim faces as they watched her pump healing chakra into him.

Dan's eyes stared straight up at the sky watching the rain fall. "I... can't die here..."

"Don't worry!" exclaimed Tsunade, smiling and crying. "I've stopped the blood! There's no danger anymore... you will be saved! Dan!"

The man smiled gratefully. "Really... that's great..." His eyes closed slowly and his last breath escaped his body, along with his spirit.

Tsunade paused and looked down at the gaping wound in Dan's chest. She pushed forth and continued to pour chakra into him, her jaw clenched tightly as she worked.

"Damned death...!" She cursed at the wound. "Stop...!" Tsunade's voice loudened as she pumped chakra into him forcibly. "Stop...! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!" She started to scream at Dan's still body and pound at it. "I'm telling you to stop!"

"That's enough!" bellowed her team mate. "He's already dead!" He pulled Tsunade away from the lifeless body making her fall back onto her knees.

Tsunade's eyes widened as realisation finally dawned on her. She gazed down at her hands; blood covered them despite the rain that washed away all traces of it on the ground. She began to tremble...

Suddenly she whirled around, eyes furious. She stood up and marched over towards a second body that lay up against a tree. She grabbed the man and curled her hands around his throat and shook him. "Why?" she screamed, tightening her grip. "Why did you kill him!"

A Stone hitae-ate clattered onto the ground. "They... were my orders..." replied the man, voice strained under her grip. His silver hair was covered in thick mud. His purple eyes were locked onto Tsunade's, seeing the wrath in them. He couldn't move... so many bones had been broken when he had been taken out by the woman when she arrived. If only it hadn't started raining... he could have still used his bloodline... he silently cursed the dark sky and the sun for hiding when he needed it the most.

The woman continued to choke and shake him. "Mongrels of the Stone! You're nothing but subservient dogs for their armies! There are so many other things you could have done with your bloodlines!"

"Like what, court magicians?" The man cracked a grin with broken and bloodied teeth. "The Mitsukai bloodline was made for battle, you know that. You wouldn't go telling Konoha's precious Uchiha or Hyuuga clans to go out and try and make a living some other way. They were intended for only one thing... to kill... just like me..."

Tsunade's brow twitched and furrowed deeply with hatred. She screamed furiously. In a single last squeeze she snapped the man's neck in two. Tsunade let go, hands still trembling.

The silver haired man fell to the ground, his use extinguished... His empty purple eyes stared up at the dark sky glassily...

* * *

"You should have just let her die in peace!" yelled Tsunade. The door slammed closed as the Hokage left the room.

Benkeino pulled out a bottle of soft drink from his robe pocket and took a sip. "You just can't let a life go so easily before it's even lived..." he mumbled. "And even in death she wouldn't have found peace. The Shinigami would never have let her..."

He opened the door and walked out, shutting it gently behind him.

* * *

**In the stadium...**

"Oh, hi Yume-chan and Jieichou-kun!" Hana smiled sweetly and waved as the pair sat down next to them.

Yanagi folded her arms and grumbled as Yume sat next to her.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about me and your 'man' any longer, Yanagi." Yume said in a perky voice.

The black-haired girl looked surprised. "Oh... uh... what?" she spluttered.

"It was all a farce," Jieichou explained simply. "Yume was just trying to make Tansei jealous."

Yanagi's jaw almost dropped to the ground.

"Hehee, I know I couldn't have taken Sora away from you anyway," Yume giggled. "I was kind of afraid during the whole ordeal that you'd bite my head off."

"But, but..." stuttered Yanagi.

"Oh, it's so obvious you dig him." replied Yume in an amused tone. "Sure, he's not as handsome or as smart as Tansei..."

"What!" screeched Yanagi. "Sora's a thousand times better than Tansei!"

Yume grinned. "Told you... you dig him!"

"She's right," agreed Hana, smiling.

Yanagi death-stared at the pair of them.

* * *

**At the participant entry... **

Sora groaned. "Yanagi-chan is going to kill me when she finds out I went through her bag!"

"It's fine, Sora," Kita said despite feeling a little embarrassed as well. "I didn't have any other worthy clothes so I'm just borrowing hers."

"You look like a wannabe street fighter," remarked Tansei, eyebrows raised as he looked her up and down.

Kita sighed and turned to Sora. "Didn't Yanagi have anything better than this in her bag?"

"I just had to grab what I could and run," Sora's face went a deep shade of red.

Tansei laughed as he saw. "Don't tell me... you saw a pair of Yanagi's underpants and freaked out, didn't you?"

Though it seemed impossible, Sora's face went an even deeper red. "Yeah... well... maybe I did..." he mumbled.

Kita looked down at herself. Tansei was right in a way with the street fighter comment... red tank top with a snug black jacket with cuffs at the elbows over it, an amethyst coloured skirt with rhinestones on it, black pants that reached to her knees, fishnet stockings (Kita just knew she'd regret them), and her usual black boots with the white stripes running up them... at least the skirt matched her eye colour.

She grumbled- the only things that had survived this whole ordeal so far had been her boots and her beloved hitae-ate which hung off of her hip the way she always liked it, though she worried that the cloth was getting worn out. Not even her hair had made it through unscathed. Kita pushed the black stripe of her fringe out of her eyes.

Something brushed up against her hand, causing her to look down. She blinked as she saw a tiny cloud of sand resting near her hand. Kita scanned the area and caught sight of Gaara standing near his siblings. His jade eyes only glanced at her for a second before Kita felt the sand nudge her again and scatter back into the wind.

Kita smiled. She felt a lot more assured knowing Gaara was around.

"Yo, genin!" yelled a strong female voice.

The group looked around.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you, punks!" There was a puff of smoke and a woman with earthy brown hair appeared. She had quite a number of piercings on her, including a stud in her nose and one in her eyebrow, and at least five earrings in each ear. "I'm the referee for your next round," she announced. "Now if all behave like nice little brats, I'll lead you inside and instruct you on what's going to happen."

Kita, Tansei and Sora exchanged glances before following her into the stadium.

"Alright!" yelled the jounin as they reached a fork in the hall way. "Here's the deal. When I call your names, step up. When I give you a hallway, you walk down it, and wait in the room at the end. Your pairings will be a secret, so when the door opens and your name is called, you go out, okay? Good!" She looked down at her clipboard and paused. "Damn it, I forgot we have an uneven amount this time." She stared daggers at the group like it was their fault. Suddenly she closed her eyes and waved her finger around before jabbing it down on the clipboard. She opened her eyes. "Alright, put your hand up if you're named Kankuro."

A genin wearing black put up his hand.

"Lucky day, punk... you get to automatically pass this round." The woman gave a poisonous smile.

"Uh, what?" asked Kankuro uncertainly. "Automatically?"

"Sure, whatever," The woman did a 'shoo-shoo' motion at him. "Just get out of here and to the seating so you can enjoy the matches... I said get going! Before I break your legs and you fail!"

Kankuro's eye twitched and he shrugged at his siblings. He wandered back down the hallway.

The jounin pulled her clipboard back up. "Alright, group one! Neji, Temari, Araiki, Kita, and Tansei, step up! Left hallway!"

The five filed down the hallway. Kita glanced back as they went.

The female jounin's voice rang down the hallway. "Group two; Sora, Masakari, Gaara, Shino, and Uteki! Right hallway! And I'll see you punks when you come out!"

"I guess that means we'll end up fighting against someone from that side," commented Temari as they walked.

Kita had a worried look on her face. _Please... I hope I don't end up fighting Sora or Gaara..._

Araiki gave a silent sigh. _I'm glad I'm not fighting Kita-chan... but that Gaara guy creeps me out. _

_Heh heh... not surprised really, _interrupted Houkou. _Shukaku was always the creepy old bastard. _

Araiki almost bumped into the genin with long black hair in front of him. _So that guy is the one Kita-chan was talking about to me at the lake... damn... _

_You could beat any of these weaklings, kid. I haven't entrusted you with those jutsu I taught you for nothing now..._

The shaggy-haired boy felt nervous regardless however.

* * *

**In the other hallway... **

_Oh snap..._ thought Sora worryingly. _All the people on Kita's side are really tough. I mean... at least Kita and Araiki are... Kita wouldn't go easy on me, even though I'm her friend, and that Araiki guy... after seeing him in the previous round... I may be able to handle Tansei, but he knows a lot about my bloodline, and probably some of its weaknesses. That Temari girl that Kita knows would probably beat me within a few seconds... and that other guy... Niji, was it? Er, whatever it was... as long as I didn't let him near me I could probably be able to do something. _

Gaara shifted beside him. Sora glanced up, caught by the movement. The red-haired boy's eyes slid across to him.

Sora gave an apologetic and nervous smile at him before turning away. _Dang, this keeps getting worse... Aw, man... if my bloodline was more developed I'd feel better, but right now... Is becoming a chuunin really worth all that while for getting yourself nearly killed? I'd rather do what Hana did and wait until I was stronger. What have I gotten myself into here? What have we _all_ gotten ourselves into? _

* * *

Sunlight flooded the dark room, making Kita shield her eyes. She blinked as her sight adjusted. Outside was the stadium field. The field was circular, a large expanse of dirt with a small lake on the far side and various trees scattered about.

A silhouette appeared in the doorway.

"Temari, please go outside for your match."

Temari pushed off of the wall and walked out, gripping the fan on her back tightly. The door closed as she exited.

_Good luck,_ thought Kita, frowning determinedly at the closed door.

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **So how was that, eh? The thing with Tsunade and Dan is so sad...

Hehe, not sure if anyone would have noticed, but when Sora called Neji 'Niji' in his mind, 'Niji' actually means 'rainbow'. Thanks to Clark for that funny little bit of info!

Hm... need something to fill here... um... Oh! I know! New theme songs! I love Rising Dragon, it's just one of those songs you can imagine a fight scene to.

Opening: Rising Dragon – Flow

Closing: White Song – L'ArcenCiel

**'Til next time, guys! Remember to leave a review! **


	36. Light Show

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Firstly... OMG MY COMPUTER SUCKS! I've been trying to upload this thing for over 2 hours now. It's 11.30 at night and I gotta get up at 5am! Anyway...

Once again, I took my time in this chapter... sorry. But you can't blame me this time because I had exams! I still have some more to go too, and this weekend I'm going to Brisbane, so the next chapter may take a little longer... hopefully not.

Oh, also I was working on some art this week. Why don't you surf on over to my deviantART account: RaineJoybringer , after this and take a look. You may find a little spoiler there. And if you look around in the scraps section you'll find some sketches of the characters.

**Q- Did you actually base Kita's outfit after a Street Fighter character? **

**A-** Uh, not really... just off of one of those dress-up dolls games you can find around the net. If you look in the scraps section of my dA account you'll see a sketch of Kita in it.

**Questions for the characters! **

**Q- Shuuki: Why are you always blushing around Rindou? Are you really staring at her butt? **

**Shuuki-** Uh..? Hey! I am not! I'm... er, um, well... I look up to her a lot I guess...

**Q- Yanagi: What would you say to, hypothetically, Sora went through your clothes and saw your underwear, how would you react? **

**Yanagi-** ... what? I'd burn him to the ground, of course... and what did you mean by "hypothetically"? Is this like one of those 'A friend of a friend of mine but it's secretly me' questions?

**Q- Temari: Are you upset that you won't be able to have your rematch with Shikamaru, especially after he totally beat you last time? **

**Temari-** I suppose it would have been fun... but that's in the past now, isn't it? No use dwelling on it.

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 36: Light Show _**

Temari surveyed the area, taking it all in. _Pretty much like last year, but with a lake- could be interesting._ She looked across to the next door as it opened. A boy with sunglasses stepped out. He paused briefly as he saw Temari; however he covered it up by pushing his sunglasses up his nose and walking on. Temari smirked and walked out to the centre of the field.

The female examiner raised an eyebrow at both of the genin. "Match one! Temari of Suna versus Aburame Shino of Konoha! Begin!"

Shino raised an arm. A swarm of bugs erupted out of his sleeve and flew at Temari.

In a flash, Temari had her fan out. However, there was not enough time to open it. Using it like a bat, she swung, swatting the bugs away.

Opposite her, Shino raised both of his arms up into the air.

Temari finished off the rest of the bugs that flew around her head before catching sight of Shino. Her eyes followed upwards to the sky and widened- above the Konoha genin was a large meteor-sized cloud of bugs.

Shino placed his hands back into his pockets as the bug-meteor began to fall.

_The first one was a distraction,_ thought Temari, looking down at Shino's pocketed hands. _He knows he's no match, however he continues. Admirable I suppose..._

"This is over," she said unfurling her fan. She arched her arms back. "_Kamaitachi no jutsu_!"

* * *

Kita jumped as the door rattled violently. A cold draught blew in through the cracks and swirled around the room, messing with everyone's hair. Something landed on Kita's cheek, making her whack at her face. On her palm was a squashed insect. Kita grimaced and wiped it off on her skirt.

A cheer roared throughout the crowd above the room making the walls rumble. A voice yelled something but it was lost in the overwhelming sound above.

Suddenly, the door opened.

"Mitsukai Kita, please."

Kita's head jerked up. Was it her turn already?

"Kita," Tansei put a hand on her shoulder before she left. "I hope I get to see you in the next round."

The silver-haired girl's mouth twitched into a smile. "You too..."

Clenching her fist, she walked out into the bright sunshine...

* * *

Kita blinked- the sun was intense after being in that dark room.

"Kita!" screamed a group of voices.

Her eyes slowly adjusted and she looked around, and up into the stands. Yanagi, Hana, Yume and Jieichou were sitting in the rows above. Yanagi waved wildly.

"Do your best, Kita!" she screamed.

Kita nodded.

"Hey, you!"

A boy with bright blonde hair caught her attention. The Kumo genin walked out from his doorway, glaring intensely.

"It's about time I get to face you," His black robe billowed behind him as they walked out to the centre of the field.

"What's the anticipation about? And who are you?" asked Kita, an eyebrow raised. She recognised him from before, but she'd never even given him more than a second look before, let alone talked to him.

"Damn it," he spat. "My name is Tsuiraku Uteki! My teacher was a jounin named Hasaki! Does that ring any bells to you?"

Kita's brow twitched. "Hasaki..."

* * *

_The man gave a grin. "I see you brats are admiring my Ghost Head Sword." _

_Kita found herself talking. "Who are you?" _

_The man's grin widened. "I am Hasaki, missing-jounin of the Hidden Cloud." _

* * *

"Well, does it!" demanded the blonde.

"How can I forget?" Kita retorted. "He tried to kill me and my friends!"

Uteki paused for a second before yelling again. "But he didn't, did he? In the end, you ended up killing him, right!"

"I killed him to protect my friends!" Kita's hand was clenched hard in a fist. "He was deranged!"

"He was not deranged!" screamed Uteki suddenly, his green and gold streaked eyes enraged. "You killed him! And because of it, I'll never know what happened to my sister and what took her away!" His fists trembled by his sides, like he was about to run in and punch her.

"Hey, punks, can it! Save it for when you're throwing punches at each other!" yelled the female examiner. She faced the crowd. "Match two! Mitsukai Kita of Iwa against Tsuiraku Uteki of Kumo! Begin!"

Immediately Uteki worked up a series of hand-seals. "_Raiton; Tohibi no jutsu_!" Streams of lightning erupted out of his fingers and leapt around the battlefield randomly.

The examiner leapt back to avoid a strike. She swore as it left a small burning hole in the grass just where her foot had been.

Kita smiled. She wouldn't be using any cat-like agility here. There was only one option in this form... She just hoped she could use it again like last time.

"_Hiton; Enkou Shouheki_!"

A bolt of Uteki's lighting crackled and sparked intensely as it hit a glowing object hovering before his opponent. Eventually the lightning from Uteki's hands all joined the object.

"What is that?" Uteki growled. He stared ahead at the thing before him.

It was a halo.

"_Hikari no Shuujuku_," replied Kita, folding her arms. "The pride of the Mitsukai bloodline... I haven't had much practise with it, but it should be enough to beat you. I took notes during the previous rounds when your friends were fighting- your electricity jutsu is made from chakra, and is attracted to it. My chakra automatically moulds light into a solid form, so as long as I keep this up as a barrier, you can't hurt me. The two will only cancel each other out." She smiled again.

* * *

"She looks so much like Gaara with that pose..." murmured Kankuro to Temari. The two had moved up into the stands after Temari's successful match.

"Sometimes I think more of our little brother rubbed off on Kita than the other way around," Temari gave a crooked smile as she leaned on the railing. _She may not have had quite the influence that Uzumaki kid had on him... but she's been helping him... even if she hasn't noticed. _

* * *

"Wow, how beautiful," whispered Hana in awe, looking down at the halo. "Kita's bloodline manifests itself as a halo!"

"Manifests?" asked Yanagi. "What do you mean by that?"

Hana turned and smiled. "Well, Hissori-san's bloodline manifests in the shape of hexagons."

"And how'd you find that out?" asked Yanagi, an eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"Um, well, I went looking through some of my father's scrolls and found a couple bits and pieces of information on the different ninja in the village..." She blushed as she saw everyone's accusing looks. "I know I wasn't supposed to...! But there was some information that I thought would be really helpful in my medical jutsu! Like with Sora's head before. If I hadn't had a look through some past medical files of his family, I wouldn't have known how to fix him up so quickly."

"Well, if it was for those sorts of things, then alright..." replied Yanagi. "I wouldn't have told your dad anyway."

Hana smiled again as her blush vanished. "I know..."

There was a scream down on the field. Hana and Yanagi stood up.

"Kita!"

* * *

"...you can't hurt me. The two will only cancel each other out." She smiled again.

Uteki ended the jutsu, leaving the halo to crackle by itself. He stood for a second, as Kita explained. His mouth suddenly twitched into a smile. "You're right... it's just that you didn't count on one thing." He held his hand out. "My bloodline! _Shuurai_!"

There was a loud crack and a flash. Kita screamed as something bright went through the middle of her halo jutsu and struck her in the chest. The force of the electricity shoved her onto the ground. The halo Kita had created faded out of existence.

Uteki shook his hand, dispelling the lighting from it. He pointed to his gold-flecked green eyes. "This is the most supreme bloodline in the whole of Kumo- the Raikougan. Because of it, I'm able to store true lightning in my body, not the cheap stuff like everyone else! And I don't even have to use hand-seals to use it!"

Kita's chest expanded as her eyes flew open and she gasped for breath. Her heart was hurting- like it was being pounded from the outside. Her hands twitched furiously as she gripped at the grass. She struggled to pull herself into a sitting position. Kita cringed. The battle had just gotten harder than what she first thought.

"Get up!" yelled Uteki. "You didn't give up so easily on my sensei! I'm not going to let you lay down until I say so!"

The girl slowly rose to her feet and breathed deeply. "I'll only give up when I say. It's not to you to decide." Her hands formed seals.

"_Shuurai_!" shouted Uteki in reply.

"_Hiton; Boushi Enkou_!"

A new halo appeared before Kita. It begun to spin furiously, seeming to make a solid sphere. Uteki's lightning struck it with another loud crack. It burst apart, turning into small bolts which flew off into the field.

_I'm not giving up... I didn't stay on those mountains during those lightning storms for nothing! _

_There's got to be another way... I can't maintain the spinning forever!_

Kita lifted her foot as one of the smaller bolts zapped near her, leaving a black scar and a small flame on the grass. She stepped back down on it and smothered it out. _Last thing I need is to be careless and have my foot catching on fire... _Her brow started to moisten with beads of sweats as she kept her focus on her jutsu.

Uteki's scowl tightened as sweat dripped off of him as well. The lightning continued to flow out of his hand and shatter against Kita's halo. He shook his hand, ending the lightning.

Kita panted as her halo slowed down to fade away into nothingness. Her hands still trembled from before. She glanced up at Uteki. "I don't get why you're acting like this over someone who abandoned you. You said it was because now you'll never know what happened to your sister, but from the way he was behaving when I met him I don't think you would have learnt anything from him."

"Don't say that!" Uteki yelled back at her suddenly. He wiped some sweat from his face swiftly. "He knew what happened! He said she was taken away by red clouds in a black sky! I needed to know what he meant by that! Even if he wasn't in his full mind, he still knew!"

"You're wrong... the only thing he knew was his name and how to kill." replied Kita sullenly. "He wasn't the same person you knew once before."

The blonde-haired boy didn't reply back. In a way it was true... But he never had given up hope before. He'd always hoped that somehow his sister was still out there. And he'd always hoped his teacher would come back the same man that had always been...

"Hey, are you punks going to stand around squabbling in front of the VIPs, or are you going to kick each other's asses?" demanded the examiner, cutting over the both of them. The woman's hands twitched irritably towards her leg pouch.

Uteki's eyebrow twitched in return. "Fine, lady, we'll finish this. Won't we?" He glanced at Kita with his gold-flecked eyes.

Kita gave a cat-like grin. "Alright, and we'll finish our little conversation later too."

The woman gave a 'humph' of annoyance and crossed her arms. "Get it over and done with before the sun sets, okay? We still got more brats like you to get through."

Kita breathed quietly, waiting. Sweat drenched her red shirt. _I think I know how I can beat him now. Just because his electricity attacks aren't made of chakra, it doesn't mean they aren't made of energy. I need to time this right..._

_She can't have too much chakra left. Though I was surprised she was able to get up after that last attack. She should have been twitching on the ground longer than that. This time though, I'll make sure she does._ Uteki raised both of his hands. "_Tokkan Nibai_!"

"_Hiton; Enkou Shouheki_!"

Both bolts of lightning seemed to explode before Kita's outstretched hands. Waves of heat and sound rippled out across the field, making the crowd cover their ears and flinch away.

Uteki covered his eyes as the heat seemed to make them dry out. There was a dampened shout inside Uteki's ringing ears.

"Rapid Spiral Strike!"

The boy coughed out a glob of blood as something walloped him in the gut over and over. Suddenly he flew backwards as a final blow struck him painfully.

Uteki landed with a splash in the lake and began to sink under the surface, a pained look on his face. There was a second splash and a hand grabbed onto his collar, dragging him back up and onto the shore, flipping him over onto his back. Uteki coughed again, a mix of water and blood splattering out. He opened his eyes and saw Kita dripping wet beside him.

The ringing in his ears subsided and he could hear Kita panting heavily.

"How... why'd you...?" he croaked.

Kita shook her head. "Can't hear you," she pointed to her ears. "But if you're wondering why your lightning attack didn't work, it's because I separated the light from it, dividing the energies. That's why there was that sound and all that heat." Kita's hands shook again, both from tiredness and from the large red burns on them she had received in the jutsu process.

A pair of feet appeared next to them. "So, are you done?" asked the examiner expectantly.

Uteki closed his eyes. "I'm done..." He opened them again and Kita noticed his eyes had turned almost entirely green. Uteki glanced at her. "I was nearly out of power anyway..." he admitted.

Though Kita couldn't hear him properly, she understood. "Thank you," she smiled.

"No... thank you..." Uteki stared up at the nearby trees and the light that dappled on him through the leaves. _Hasaki-sensei... I won't make the memories I have of you become bitter because of what happened... Big sis Tenkyuu... I'll continue to hope... hope that maybe... maybe you're still out there... _

"Winner, Mitsukai Kita!"

Clapping echoed throughout the stadium. Kita's hearing returned to normal and she smiled. She waved up at her team mates up in the crowd. Yanagi and Hana were cheering wildly. Eventually, Yume joined them as well, cheering enthusiastically, followed by Jieichou as he stood up and clapped respectfully.

Kita's hands dropped. _I wish dad was here to see that... I know he'd be proud. _

"Hey, you," The examiner nudged Kita. "Get off the field already. We still got a long way to go."

Running, Kita went past the medics which had placed Uteki on a stretcher. The boy had fallen asleep, induced by the medics. The silver-haired girl looked back for a second before going up the stairs.

"Broken a rib," muttered one of the medics to another after Kita had passed. "Quite a strong punch for such a young kid,"

"I bet Jouryoku-sama is having a field day with those cameras he had set up around the place to record footage," chuckled another one under his breath. "I heard that he's going to broadcast it all around the surrounding countries after he's gotten it edited, and then broadcast the final rounds live."

The first medic gave a low whistle. "But I thought that was illegal to do with all the censorship and secrecy between the villages?"

The other looked grim momentarily. "So did I... but apparently there aren't any official laws stating against such a thing. It's never been an issue, though assuredly it will be frowned upon by the other countries."

* * *

Sora looked up at the dark ceiling as the crowd above roared with cheering. Sora thought he could almost hear Yanagi in there, screaming.

_It wouldn't surprise me if Kita won..._ he thought to himself quietly.

The door slid open again. Sora gulped, hoping his name wasn't next.

"Ouritsu Masakari, it's your turn." said the person at the door.

Masakari flipped her burgundy hair back. "About time, I was starting to think I'd been forgotten." She turned back to sneer at Sora and Gaara when she reached the door. "Think yourselves lucky you didn't have to tangle with me this time."

Sora's brow twitched as the door closed.

"Cow..." muttered Gaara under his breath.

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Yeap... Masakari gets worse... but who will she face? Looks like you're gonna have to wait and find out! I hope you guys liked that chapter. It's a bit of closure on a few things if you think about it. And finally you get to see Kita's bloodline in action! Haha, 35 chapters and hardly a thing on it until now! Wow, talk about a cliffhanger...

**Jutsu used: **

Any not described here probably are official jutsu that you can find on Wikipedia or some other informative Naruto site, or ones I've described before. If there's anything more you would like to know, please ask. And any jutsu listed are available for you to use, as long as you seek permission from me first.

**Raiton; Tohibi no jutsu **_(Lightning release; Flying Sparks)_(Ninjutsu) (Lightning element) (C rank) An electrical attack that randomly sends small bolts of lightning across the ground through the fingertips. The user has very little control over the particular individual directions.

**Shuurai **_(Lightning Attack)_(Kekkei Genkai ability) (No rank) Unique to the abilities of the Tsuiraku clan, a lightning bolt of pure electricity is produced through the user's hand. The user has very little control over the strike.

**Tokkan Nibai **_(Double Lightning Strike)_(Kekkei Genkai ability) (No rank) Unique to the abilities of the Tsuiraku clan, two lightning bolts of pure electricity is produced through both of the user's hands. The user has very little control over the strikes.

**Hiton; Enkou Shouheki **_(Light release; Halo Barrier)_(Kekkei Genkai ability) (No rank) A light element jutsu unique to the Mitsukai clan, it allows the user's manifested chakra to create a barrier.

In Kita's case, the _Enkou Shouheki _is unique to her in name. If her father Hissori were to use the same jutsu, in theory he would name his the **_Rokkakkei Shouheki_**** (Hexagon barrier). The name changes amongst users; however the usage is effectively the same. The _Shouheki_ jutsu is one of the more basic Mitsukai bloodline jutsu, as the user only manifests their chakra, but adds no more commands after that. **

**Hiton; Boushi Enkou **_(Light release; Spinning Halo)_(Kekkei Genkai ability) (No rank) A light element jutsu unique to the Mitsukai clan, it allows the user's manifested chakra to spin. In effect, a stronger version of the _Shouheki_, however, there have been instances of other use where it has been used as an attack.

**Extra Info:**

**Raikougan** _(Lightning Eye)_(Kekkei Genkai) The name of the Tsuiraku's bloodline, it allows a person to act as a storage facility for pure electricity.

The sign of the bloodline active in a member is through the eyes. The amount of gold in the person's eyes will indicate the amount of stored electricity in their body. The Tsuiraku bloodline does not make a person immune to electricity, however, unless they are in the process of absorbing or expelling the electricity from their bodies. It is also possible for a person to absorb so much, which will cause the body grievous harm. For that reason, the majority of the younger members of the clan are restricted to storing small amounts. It should be noted that the Tsuiraku clan prefer normal lightning jutsu over their bloodline, as their abilities are extremely hard to control given most circumstances.

**Leave a review guys! Next chapter coming soon hopefully! **


	37. Downfall

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Sorry I didn't update sooner guys! Brisbane was pretty fun, though manga is expensive... At least now I have volumes 2 and 3 of Kamichama Karin, which is so adorable and chibi!

Oh, anyway, I've also been working on sketches. You can find a profile of Yume in my deviantART scraps section now as well as a pretty awesome picture of Kita. Okay, well here's what you've been waiting for!

**Questions for the characters! **

**Q- Masakari, why are you acting like such a cow?**

**Masakari-** Whaaat? How dare you! I'll definitely be telling my father and sisters about that!

**Q- Team G2: You should know a little about the Grass Sisters. So tell me, what the hell is wrong with them? **

**Rindou-** Oh, they've always been like that... little suck ups! They always act so innocent when they're around their father, but in battle they wouldn't even hesitate to kill their own mother!

**Araiki- **Isn't that going a bit far to describe them, Rindou?

**Rindou- **No way! They're cows, all of them! Especially that Masakari! Oooh, she just makes me so angry!

**Shuuki-** It sounds like you're jealous actually, Rindou...

**Rindou-** ... what? Rar!

**Shuuki- **Eep...

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 37: Downfall _**

The crowd's cheers finally came to an end, leaving the stadium buzzing excitedly in anticipation of the next match. However, not everyone had been exactly thrilled by that last match...

Tsunade's nails clicked uneasily on the sidearm of her chair as she mulled over her thoughts. She chewed her bottom lip as she motioned for Kakashi to lean down next to her. Luckily, Jouryoku had left several minutes earlier to go into some office downstairs.

"What that Kumo boy said sounds familiar," mumbled the Godaime Hokage to the silver-haired jounin. "'Red clouds in a black sky'..."

"It's exactly the same insignia worn by those members of the Akatsuki," Kakashi confirmed with a nod. "I remember from that time before..." The man's one visible eye twitched with some past memory.

"Uh... excuse me..."

Tsunade and Kakashi looked up as one of the jounin next to the Tsuchikage moved uncomfortably nearer to them. Kakashi's hand moved closer to his kunai pouch. The brown-haired man's brow was furrowed with worry. As the man moved closer, Benkeino's eyes slid across. The purple-haired woman standing next to him also looked over.

"Hokage-sama," The man with brown hair bowed respectfully. He glimpsed back at his Tsuchikage and waited until the other man nodded. "My name is Hoshino Rosuto... I am Kita's teacher."

Tsunade's mouth curved into one that showed her disapproval.

"What is your business addressing the Hokage-sama?" asked Kakashi, his hand still visibly near his kunai pouch. His other hand approached his slid-down hitae-ate.

"He's not going to attack you or anything, if that's what you're wondering... he's not that dumb," commented the purple-haired kunoichi, looking into a compact to check her lipstick. She glimpsed over at Kakashi with a miffed look. The grey-haired ninja kept his hands at the ready however.

"Please, I mean no ill-will, but I heard your exchange before," Rosuto bowed again, hoping his politeness would win him some kind of favour. "And you mentioned the Akatsuki?"

The older woman raised an eyebrow curiously. "And what do you know about that?"

"Only from what I have heard from Kita herself and their intentions on capturing the so-named Jinchuuriki," replied Rosuto. "But I hadn't heard that information before, about what clothes they wore..."

Tsunade's light brown eyes narrowed. _So the Stone knows about the existence of the Akatsuki as well... but they attained their information from their own Jinchuuriki. How did she know about them? There are very few people who have had access to our data on them... is it possible she ran into someone with information on them? But why would they give her information unless they wanted to save her life... It couldn't have been Jiraiya and Naruto... I've heard rumours that he's been to the south-east of the country- nowhere near the Stone... but then... who? _

"Tsunade-sama?" asked Kakashi, waiting for her to respond to the other jounin's words.

The Hokage glared up at the man with frosty blue eyes. "If you are going to ask for information on that particular _classified_ subject, then forget about it."

"But this is for Kita's own protection," Rosuto retorted, stepping forward. "Any information you have could be vital to her survival!" The silver-haired jounin grabbed a kunai.

"Rosuto," interrupted Benkeino, standing up and placing a hand on the man's shoulder to calm him. He stared down at his fellow shinobi leader. "You have that information on what their insignia is. Be grateful Tsunade-dono is allowing you to keep that."

Rosuto's shoulders dropped a little and he bowed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama..." He stepped back.

Tsunade flicked her head back to the field below. Kakashi stepped back as well, though his hands continued to grip the kunai, ready to spring into action. He cast a look at the purple-haired kunoichi who berated him before. Her bright blue eyes glimpsed back at him through her compact. She turned her nose up a little and looked away.

_Who...?_ Tsunade asked herself wonderingly. Her eyes widened slightly suddenly. _Is it possible that the Mitsukai child has some connections to Gaara? We did send some vague information on the Akatsuki to the Sand during peace agreements and cleaning up after the Sound attacked. _Tsunade's nails clicked nervously on the sidearm again. Below, the next match was about to begin. _Damn that Gaara... if he becomes Kazekage, I don't know what'll happen..._

* * *

Masakari flipped her hair back confidently as she strode into the centre of the field. She turned her head to face the other door, where her opponent was walking out. She recognised the boy from the preliminaries- Hyuuga Neji. Masakari smirked. From what she had observed before, he was a close range fighter, using the Gentle Fist style she had heard so much about from her father. However... the younger boy would definately be running low on chakra after that last match with the weird kid with the face paint. Needless to say, in Masakari's mind Neji would be nothing but fodder for her way to the top.

The crowd whispered eagerly in the stands. Masakari smiled. It was natural they'd be talking about her. They'd be talking about her even more after she won the match.

Neji took up his position and slid into a familiar fighting stance, preparing himself for the start of the match. She was quick at the start; he knew that much along with the fact she was a long-range fighter, making her his natural enemy. However, the Hyuuga was sure that she didn't know much about his Gentle Fist style and his way of using chakra. He studied her stance- she looked confident, almost too confident. Neji guessed that she was either underestimating him or she had already determined a way of victory. Either way, Neji hoped she didn't have any extra nasty tricks up her sleeve.

The examiner raised her hand. "Match three; Hyuuga Neji of Konoha versus Ouritsu Masakari of Kusa, begin!"

Neji instantly sidestepped as Masakari's vine snapped out.

"Byakugan!" yelled Neji, activating his bloodline's famous doujutsu.

"_Divide_!" yelled the burgundy-haired girl. The vine split into two and started to fly towards Neji.

_The same trick her sister used..._ thought Neji. _I won't fall for it! _

"_Hakkesho Kaiten_!"

Masakari gripped onto her weapons tighter as they were flung back from the wall of swirling chakra. Neji slowed to a stop, panting softly.

_I've used so much chakra today... I need to be more careful. _Neji straightened up his fighter's stance. _I don't even think I can use Hakke Rokujuyon Sho... and the Kaiten takes up so much too, but I need to use it to stay on the defensive. I'll just have to time the Kaiten at the right moment then and keep it short. _

_This kid's annoying..._ Masakari started to snap her vines one at a time to keep him at bay whilst she thought._ He's very agile, but he's tired as well. Not surprising from that tied match of his. No problems though, it's only a matter of time before his strength runs out and then I can tear him apart. _

Neji's eyes darted up and down, observing the flow of chakra in his opponent's body. He started to notice a distinct pattern in Masakari's movements as she cracked her vines back and forth before him. Neji counted- Masakari followed a beat, and as she did, she sent an influx of chakra into the vine. _That explains a bit about her style of attack. It also means she can only launch a specialised attack when the chakra fills the whole vine, and that is when it cracks. _Neji's brow furrowed. _I can use this, but first I need to get close. If I'm right, she won't know what I'm planning._

Suddenly, Neji took off running towards Masakari. The girl's eyes widened as he began to dodge her whips, moving out of the way just in time. Masakari raised both her arms, sending her vines up and down towards Neji.

The Byakugan-user jumped. "_Kaiten_!" He spun momentarily, enough to deflect both of the vines before flying down towards Masakari with an outstretched palm. "_Hakke Kusho_!" He hit her in chest, pushing her back to skid along the ground.

A dribble of blood came from Masakari's mouth as she coughed. She fell onto her backside, clutching at her throat. She clung desperately onto her whips.

Neji straightened up. "You should give up before I kill you. You can't attack with your whips in such a short range."

The Grass Sister's eyes glinted slyly. "_Toge Wana_!" She flung her arms out. The vines in her hand came to life and slithered like snakes, swiftly creeping up Neji's body and binding him tightly around the waist and arms. The Hyuuga struggled, but the thorns only dug deeper into his skin.

"I know enough about the Gentle Fist style," Masakari smirked, standing up. "To know that even a blow like that couldn't have damaged me much when you didn't put enough chakra into it. And you're underestimating me! It'll be your downfall!"

"_Hakkesho Daikaiten_!" Neji bellowed, chakra billowing out from his body in a powerful whirlwind.

The vines binding him unwrapped themselves in the opposite direction. Masakari gave a scream as she was flung off the ground. The force of the spin jerked her hands off and she flew away.

Neji dropped onto his hands and knees as his Kaiten attack ended. He winced as he heard a sickening crack from small a grove of trees. He turned his face up- Masakari had been flung straight into a tree trunk, back first. The girl slid onto the ground, the back of her head bleeding. She looked up at him with an expression of fury and disappointment on her face before she slumped down unconscious.

"You fell for the same attack so many times," muttered Neji tiredly. "In the end, it was you that was underestimating me."

The female examiner raised an eyebrow as she scanned over Masakari. _Damn, Jouryoku is _not_ going to be happy over this... _She turned to the crowd to announce it. "The winner of match three is Hyuuga Neji of Konoha!"

The crowd roared excitedly. The match had been quite an excellent display for many, especially those not familiar with the Hyuuga techniques.

As they cheered, a medical team carted Masakari off and helped Neji limp back to the hospital centre after healing the more serious puncture wounds.

* * *

Kita flexed her hands. Hana had put some salve on them to get rid of any infections before applying a healing jutsu to the burns.

"That was quite an impressive match," commented Yume, clapping along with the crowd. "I bet that match won a lot of brownie points with the higher-ups."

"Impressive for those who didn't know much about the Hyuuga style of fighting," Jieichou added with a frown. "That Neji guy didn't use a very large collection of attacks during the whole match. And even then, it seemed quite reserved. He was running out of chakra the entire time."

Yume tapped her chin thoughtfully with a finger. "You're right, Jieichou. I hadn't thought about it that way. I remember that previous match with that guy from the Sand. He must be on the verge of collapsing from chakra exhaustion by now!"

Yanagi glanced across at Kita. "So, what did you think?"

Kita's mouth twitched in a smile. "I can't say I'm not happy with the outcome..."

"That's good then," Yanagi grinned and turned back.

Kita looked up at the sky after she made sure Yanagi wasn't about to ask anything more. _But... _she thought, _I wonder what would have happened if it had been me that faced her?__Would _that_ have happened again? _Images of Masakari's sister's face flashed in her mind- the terrified look in the girl's eyes, the smell of fear... and the voice that had spoken._ I'm not even sure who I am sometimes, or if I'm even truly human..._ In the back of her mind, she felt like there was something dark and ominous waiting for her to let her guard down so it could be set free. And Kita wasn't sure if it was the Nekomata, or herself...

"I hope that we get to see Sora fight soon!" Hana chirped, interrupting Kita's thoughts.

"I want to see Tansei fight first!" Yume replied.

"They're both in different rooms, so they may end up fighting each other." Kita mentioned. She had a strange look on her face.

"Well, it's obvious that Sora would win because of his bloodline!" Yanagi grinned smugly, not noticing Kita's slightly worried expression.

"No way, Tansei would win!" retorted Yume. "He knows all about Sora's abilities, AND he's a natural genius!"

"He is not!" Yanagi stood up.

"Is so!" The blonde girl stood up as well.

"Oh my," Hana sweat-dropped as the two girls began to wrestle, grabbing each other into headlocks.

Jieichou turned back to watching the field, trying to ignore the frivolous argument... At least until Yume's boot squashed up against his cheek whilst she struggled to get free of Yanagi's grip... the grey-haired boy sighed.

Kita closed her eyes, taking the spare moment to rest while the others were occupied. She wondered what Gaara had been thinking about after they split up.

* * *

_Aw man... this means that I'm either going to face Tansei, or that Araiki guy. _Sora gulped as he heard the examiner's announcement through the door before the crowd cheered. _Either way, I think I'm screwed, but I'm more worried about that Araiki guy than about Tansei. At least I know more about Tansei because we grew up together. I don't know how I would face someone with power like Araiki. He'd be strong like Kita... he'd probably crush me in one blow! _

Beside him, Gaara suddenly pushed off of the wall to face the door. Sora turned as the door opened.

A helper looked down at the clipboard in their hands. "Gaara, please come to the centre of the field, your match is up."

Gaara began to walk outside.

"Oh, hey!" Sora spoke up, making the Sand genin pause. "Uh, good luck..."

"I don't need luck," grunted the boy in a mumble and continued outside.

"At least do your best then... for Kita's sake."

Gaara halted and turned his head, his jade eyes staring at Sora. He gave a solemn nod and the door closed behind him, leaving the blue-haired boy alone.

Sora went back to leaning against the wall of the dark room. "I can tell that the both of you have a strong bond, stronger than just plain old friendship," he muttered to the darkness. "I don't need psychic powers to know that... I noticed whenever Kita looks at you, there's just a happiness there that isn't whenever she's with us." He sighed. "Kita... are the memories _that_ painful for you? I don't see how they could be, but then... I don't think I could ever fathom something like what you've been through."

* * *

Araiki bumped his head against the back of the wall as he stared up at the ceiling. He winced, but continued to stare up above him, where he knew the crowd was.

_Tomorrow,_ he thought, _we get a short rest before the finals the day after. These secondary matches have six fights in total. That means then we'll have three matches... leaving three finalists. And from what I heard from Rindou and Shuuki, the final three will be the first ones at the top for being considered being promoted to chuunin. I'd like to be a chuunin... though I never really wanted to be a ninja. I'd be able to show the village that they shouldn't fear me, because I want to help them. _

Araiki went cross-eyed slightly as the tied parts of his backwards hitae-ate fell onto his nose. He shooed them out of way.

_Since we have a break tomorrow, maybe I should do something other than rest... that'd be just boring otherwise. Maybe I could... um... maybe... Maybe I could ask Kita-chan out on a date?_ He blushed slightly, thinking about what he would say. _But how would I ask her? And she doesn't know me very well... No!_ He shook his head. _I'm going to ask her out, and that way we can get to know each better then! _

A sound made the shaggy-haired boy jump. He looked around, seeing that nobody was left in the room except himself.

"Did I miss the next callout?" Araiki asked quietly.

* * *

"Hey, look! It's Tansei!" exclaimed Yume, pointing down excitedly at the field from amongst the tangle of bodies that was her, Yanagi, and funnily enough, Jieichou, who had been reeled in when Yume's boot got caught in his ponytail.

"Darn," Yanagi pouted, pulling herself free to sit down. "I was hoping for Sora's match to be the next one..."

Jieichou untangled his ponytail carefully before sitting down as well. He wiped his brow. "Finally... that was painful..."

"Go Tansei!" screamed Yume enthusiastically, waving at the field. She paused. "Oh, hey... isn't that that freaky Sand guy?"

Kita blinked and looked down. _Gaara... _

"I don't know if I want to cheer for him..." whispered Hana next to Kita. She moved uncomfortably in her chair.

"Me either," Kita gave an uneasy smile, putting a hand on her shoulder. _Win this match, Gaara... do it for me, please. But... but don't kill him. I know I told you all about that day with him, but... just show him a lesson._

* * *

Tansei's hands tightened their grip. So he was going to fight the strong guy from the Sand. He grinned with the thought of the challenge. There was one definite that couldn't be denied. He glared at Gaara. "Sand can never beat a stone!"

Gaara remained silent as he crossed his arms. _This is the kid Kita told me about- green hair, overconfident. He was the one that caused her all that pain... _The cork in his gourd wriggled itself free. Gaara could feel that old lust bubbling up again in his mind...

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Phew, so there you go (Haha, take THAT, Masakari!)... I hope you enjoyed that. I actually had to rewrite it quite a bit... haha, but at least now it's a slightly longer chapter than what I've usually been doing. Remember to leave a review guys, along with anything you have on your mind! I'm really interested in what you guys think, and longer reviews make me happy! So until next time!

**Jutsu used: **

Any not described here probably are official jutsu that you can find on Wikipedia or some other informative Naruto site, or ones I've described before. If there's anything more you would like to know, please ask. And any jutsu listed are available for you to use, as long as you seek permission from me first.

**Toge Wana **_(Thorn Snare)_(Weapon Skill) An ability created by the Grass Sisters, this uses chakra to control the vines manually to ensnare an enemy and bind them.

**Ooh, can't wait for next time! Leave a review for me, guys! **


	38. Semi Finale

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N: **Well, you won't believe it! The Nekomata Jinchuuriki has FINALLY turned up in the Naruto manga (with two new Akatsuki)! I dunno whether to be happy or sad because I was hoping for someone more like Kita. Oh well, at least their eyes seems to be the same shape when I compare their pictures. And they're both girls...

Oh! Oh! Speaking of pictures! Yaaaay, I finished that totally awesome sketch I did of Kita in some proper Naruto-style ninja clothes! Yeaaah, believe it! You won't believe how proud I am, ahahahaaa...

And while I'm at it, I'm also getting a chibi commission done of her by an awesome artist who goes by the name 'Pokefreak' on deviantART. Check his work out sometime. I swear your jaw will drop and you'll fall in love.

**Q- Is this going to be KitaxGaara or KitaxAraiki? **

**A-** Mwaha, you're going to have to stick around to find out! Geez... I feel like a blackmailer there.

**Q- However, is there a reason why Yume reminds me of Sakura and Yanagi reminds me of Ino? Tansei kinda reminds me of Sasuke, too...and then I think Sora and Naruto are alike. Did you do this on purpose, or is it just a coincidence?**

**A- **Hm, coincidence I suppose. Though I dunno if I see the similarities that you do... Yume is a lot more girly and sly than Sakura (and less likely to hit people). If anything Yanagi is a bit more like Sakura than Ino. I guess she's a combo, but a good one, even if she's a bit more snobby. Tansei's got that Sasuke-esque confidence I suppose, along with that stubbornness, but he'll grow out of it unlike Sasuke. And Sora and Naruto... I can see a few similarities there, though I think Sora's more serious and brainier, hehe. He does tend to go a bit over-board though, like when he's with Yanagi. He loves to tease her secretly.

**Q- Will the Akatsuki be making an appearance? **

**A- **Most probably seeing as two new Akatsuki have arrived in the manga! It gives me a lot more to work with from the storyline. Hopefully they'll get into a fight soon so I can find out what on earth that guy's weapon is... Looks like something from Bleach to me...

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 38: Semi-finale _**

The female examiner's brow twitched as she saw the cork drop onto the ground. "Hey, you, don't start until I give the wor-" Her voice cut out as Gaara shot her a look that could kill. The woman had never felt such a fear before. She gulped and raised an arm. "Match five; Ishi Tansei of Iwa versus Gaara of Suna, begin!"

Tansei's leapt back as a pillar of sand erupted from Gaara's gourd and flew towards him. He grabbed a pair of kunai out of his pouch and slashed at the smaller tendrils of sand that spouted from the main pillar that missed. As he did, sand shaped like shuriken shot out from the pillar. Tansei threw his kunai, displacing the shuriken back into soft sand.

The green-haired boy ducked under a new jet of sand and prepared a series of hand seals. "Now I'll show you that rock beats sand! _Doton; Retsudontensho_!" He planted his hands on the ground and pillars of rock burst out, matching Gaara's sand pillars blow for blow.

Eventually the rock pillars ploughed through to head straight for Gaara. A round dome of sand surrounded the red-haired boy as the rock crashed forward. Tansei grinned; no way would _sand_ be able to stand up to rock!

Suddenly, his eyes widened as the rock pillars shattered against the barrier. Chunks of stone flew into the sky. Dust and dirt rained down over the area.

Gaara's barrier lowered along with the dust. Rocks were scattered everywhere on the field, but there was no sign of his green-haired opponent. Suddenly, Gaara's sand shield flew under him just as a pair of hands burst out from the ground behind his ankles. Gaara commanded his sand to wrap around the wrists. He tugged at them, pulling Tansei out from the ground and suspending him in mid-air in front of him.

Unable to use his hands, Tansei swung his body to kick. The sand appeared again, blocking his feet from connecting. Gaara's dark-circled eyes twitched. Tansei was flung away. Turning quickly, he landed on his feet and skidded to a halt.

"Damn," He gritted his teeth. "But sand shouldn't be able to block solid stone!"

"This sand is different," replied Gaara. "It is an ultimate defence. You cannot defeat it." He held his hand out and a new pillar of sand launched towards Tansei.

"_Doton; Doroku Gaeshi_!"

A wall of rock grew out of the ground and the sand pounded against it like a tidal wave. Tansei sprung into the air, and leapt over his newly created wall. He performed a flurry of hand-seals as he fell to the ground.

"You'll never escape this jutsu! _Doton; Iwa Honkyo no jutsu_!" Tansei's hands slammed on the ground as he landed. A thick dome of solid rock grew over Gaara, trapping him inside. Tansei took a breath, hoping... no, he was confident he would win here!

The stone emitted a loud groaning sound from within. Cracks appeared on the surface and spread out, making the dome look like a mosaic.

Tansei quickly sprung back into action, forming more hand-seals. "_Doton; Iwa Yado-_" The dome collapsed before he could finish. The stone of the stronghold had been destroyed from the inside-out. The dust and sand sprinkled harmlessly onto the floor. Gaara stood where he was- still in the same position as he had started the match in.

"_Suna Shigure_," Gaara said quietly, his hand raised into the air.

Tansei whipped around, eyes widening at what he saw. Sand rained down from the sky, covering him over until it left only his face exposed.

Gaara glimpsed up into the stands where he saw a familiar silver-haired girl. Kita had a pleading look on her face. Gaara's hand fell to his side, his fingers lax. He understood what she wanted.

He walked over to Tansei, a deep scowl on his features. "You put your dependence in something you know nothing about. Had you thought more, you would have realised that sand _is_ stone. But sand is more _flexible_, unlike stone which stays rigid and _stubborn_." He said the last part, staring at the boy with a look that seemed to know what him well.

The green-haired boy stopped struggling as he thought through Gaara's words. He was right... he was like stone... But, wait... how did this red-haired genin from another country seem to know him like that?

Tansei looked up at Gaara. "I have been trying to break my ways. I've apologised for a lot of things I've done wrong."

"Apologising is only the first step," replied Gaara. "There are words, and then there are actions..." He paused for a second, jade eyes flickering up into the crowd for a brief moment. "You're going to get hurt now. I suggest you use the recovery time to think about things."

Tansei was flung into the air as the boy gave a shocked yell. The sand flew up after him as a fist shaped itself. It pounded down on Tansei's back, slamming the boy into the ground.

The Iwa genin let out a cry of pain as the sand left him sprawled out on the ground.

_He had been playing with me that entire time..._. _I'll have to become stronger... and the first step is to make amends with actions, not words..._ Tansei thought before closing his eyes

Gaara began walking towards the stairs of the stadium. He looked up at Kita. She smiled at him and worded 'thank you' to him silently. Gaara closed his eyes in a nod and continued up the stairs to his siblings.

"Winner of match five, Gaara of Suna!" yelled the female examiner.

The crowd clapped for Gaara's victory, though many did so in fear. The boy didn't even have a scratch on him- it was disturbing, to say the least.

* * *

Sora gave a worried look at the door as it slid open.

"Kigaino Sora, your match is up."

The blue-haired boy walked out into the sunlight and looked up into the stands. He spotted the rest of his team mates waving and cheering for him supportively. On the far side of the field, he saw a stretcher being carried away... with Tansei lying unconscious on it.

There were footsteps behind him. Sora turned to see Araiki walking out onto the field, shielding his eyes from the brightness of the sun. He looked down from the stands to Sora.

_Oh man... this guy..._ Sora gulped.

Araiki's eyes slid away and he continued on to the middle of the field, stepping around the rocks that littered the field.

_Tansei did this, I'm sure... he must have gone all out,_ Sora thought, scanning the ground. He noticed Gaara finish his walk up the stairs to sit next to his siblings. _He must have faced him... damn, the power of these people are scary!_

"Kid, get over here!" yelled the female examiner angrily.

"Oh, uh, yes!" Sora obeyed and swiftly walked over to face Araiki.

The two stood eyeing each other off, wondering how the fight would go. Finally, one of them spoke.

"Don't fight me," said Araiki.

Sora blinked. "Wha, why?"

"Because," The shaggy-haired boy's fists clenched tightly. "You'll get hurt otherwise..."

"But I just can't give up!" replied Sora shocked.

"You should though!" Araiki retorted. "You're Kita-chan's team mate, aren't you?"

Sora nodded.

Araiki sighed. "She would know that you can't beat me either. And unless you're deluded, you'd know that too."

"He's right," interjected the female examiner, looking away aloofly from Araiki. "No chance."

Sora's brow furrowed at Araiki then the examiner. "At least let me try."

The examiner shrugged. "Sure, your funeral..." She began to announce to the crowd. "Match six; Kigaino Sora of Iwa versus Genno Araiki of Kusa, begin!"

"_Suiton; Funsui no jutsu_!"

Sora was slammed to the side the second the match started. A jet of water had erupted out of the nearby lake and rushed at him.

"_Suiton; Funsui no jutsu_!"

Another jet of water burst out from the lake towards Sora. Sora's face twitched and he ran for cover in a grove of trees. He formed hand-seals.

"_Magen; Kokoni Arazu no jutsu_," He placed his hands on some of the trees and poured his chakra and the power of his bloodline into it.

Araiki blinked. The grove of trees had seemed to have rippled. He saw a patch of blue hair sticking out from beside a tree.

_That won't fool me,_ he thought.

_Heh heh... you got that right..._ agreed Houkou smugly. _I'm sure you can handle this without me. _

_I'll be strong! _Araiki thought.

"_Kai_!" He yelled, holding his hands in the Tora seal.

Sora appeared a few feet away from Araiki, running with a punch aimed for him. Araiki ducked under and kicked Sora's feet out from underneath him. The blue-haired boy's eyes were wide as he fell.

"You... you cancelled my genjutsu..." He landed with a thump. "But I poured my bloodline into it. Even a jounin would have found that a bit difficult to dispel..."

"Genjutsu doesn't work on the _God of Illusion_," replied Araiki quietly.

Sora leapt back onto his feet and hopped back away a few steps. "Your bijuu, right?" asked Sora in a hushed tone. Araiki nodded.

"And that's why you should have given up."

"I said that I'm going to at least try!" Sora frowned. "I've always got taijutsu to use!" He threw a couple of kunai at Araiki before running at him again.

Araiki quickly leapt out of the way of the incoming kunai. Sora was a few feet away with an outstretched arm, intent on clothes lining him.

"I'm ending this now- _Futon; Daitoppa_!"

Sora hit the stadium wall with a crash as a gale of wind picked him up and threw him in the blink of an eye. The trees nearby lost branches and leaves as the powerful gust shredded them apart. Sora dropped off of the wall and onto the ground where leaves and dust covered him.

Araiki's shoulders drooped a little... he wished that is hadn't had to come to that.

"Winner of the final match, Genno Araiki from Kusa!" yelled the examiner. She pushed some of hair back behind her ear. "Damn, glad that's over... stupid punks." She disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Sora!"

A black haired girl pushed past him and ran over to Sora.

"Sora, are you okay?" The black haired girl helped Sora to his feet.

"Erg... I'm fine Yanagi-chan, but it looks like I'm beat..." Sora glimpsed up at Araiki and gave a shaky grin. "And it looks like you were right."

Araiki walked over and held out a hand. "I'm glad you decided to fight me though you knew... it means a lot to me I suppose."

Sora grasped his hand and grinned wider. "No problems... anyway, I think I'm best getting off to the hospital wing now..." He nudged his head to Yanagi, who was helping to support him. "And I have my Yanagi-chan to keep me company! She's such a sweetie!"

"I'm not 'your' Yanagi, so cut it out!" A fan whacked him over the head.

"Oww... Yanagi-chaaaan! You're not sweet at all!" The two started to walk off, Sora limping slowly.

"You got that right, now keep hobbling or else!"

Araiki gave a short laugh at the two and looked up into the stands. The crowd's applause was finally dying down. He recognised Kita in the crowd. She clapped until the very last. Araiki smiled.

"Thank you ladies and gentlemen for attending the semi-finals," boomed a loud voice over the loud speakers, presumably belonging to Jouryoku (there was a hint of antagonism in his tone). "The final line up will consist of the following genin: Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara of Suna; Hyuuga Neji of Konoha; Mitsukai Kita of Iwa; and Genno Araiki of Kusa. These participants will meet the day after tomorrow for the finals, so we hope to see you return... and see some excellent fights from these genin." The loud speaker cut out with a sharp squealing that made the crowd cover their ears.

Kita sighed as the crowd started to disperse now that the matches were finished. Some people shot her smiles and thumbs up as they passed.

"Something wrong, Kita?" asked Hana worriedly.

The silver-haired girl blinked and turned. "Oh... it's nothing, don't worry."

"Okay... but if there is..."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks anyway, but I'm fine... I think I'll go see how Sora's getting along actually." Kita stood up and took off up the stairs. People continued to give her looks of congratulations. On further inspection however, she saw a few frowns in the seething masses pointing her way. _Of course... they know who I really am... even in a place like this, I can't escape from what has happened... I don't even know what will happen after this exam. Sure Tsuchikage-sama will welcome me, but even _he_ can't make the rest of the village feel the same way..._

Kita snapped out of her thoughts as a hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up and saw her teacher.

"I need to speak to you about your match," Rosuto looked as serious as the day she had met him.

"What is it, Rosuto-sensei?" asked Kita concernedly.

Rosuto led her over to a less crowded area and bent down. His tone was hushed. "That boy you fought, Uteki was it?" Kita nodded. Rosuto closed his eyes momentarily. "Well, during the match he mentioned something about his sister."

"He said she was 'taken away by red clouds in a black sky', or whatever that meant... Do you know, Rosuto-sensei?" The girl's brow furrowed slightly.

"I heard from the Hokage after your match... The Akatsuki wear dark clothing with red clouds on them as their insignia..." He gripped Kita's shoulders tightly as the girl's eyes widened.

"Uteki's sister... was a Jinchuuriki?" Kita stared ahead blankly as it sunk in. She shook her teacher's hands off. "I need to go see him then!"

Rosuto shook his head. "Not right now. It's not the best time for him probably with all that's happened today. Maybe tomorrow though... but you'd still need to be gentle about it, and what you know. He's not exactly directly connected to your situation, so be careful in what you tell him."

"Not directly connected?" Kita repeated angrily. "Rosuto-sensei... he doesn't know what happened to his sister. He doesn't understand why she just suddenly vanished. I can't just stand by and break something like that to him _gently_ without telling him the reasons why!"

Her teacher gave a defeated groan. "You're right in a way, Kita. But please, just don't tell him more than just what he needs to know. Promise me that?"

Kita didn't look him in the eyes as she replied. "I'll try... but if he doesn't believe me I might have to tell him..."

"Fine... I'll just have to trust you to make the right decisions then." Rosuto gave a slight smile before walking off.

_Sometimes the truth is the hardest thing to say..._ Kita thought quietly. She turned to leave.

"Hey, uh, Kita-chan! Can you wait a sec?"

Kita looked back and spotted Araiki jogging up the stairs towards her urgently. He stopped and smiled with a slight blush in his cheeks that Kita presumed was from running up from down on the field.

"Uh, hey, I'm... I'm sorry I beat up your team mate like that." The shaggy-haired boy bowed.

Kita gave a crooked smile. "No biggie I suppose. It was a match- somebody had to get hurt. Besides, I'm sure Sora will be alright."

The two stood in silence for a second. Araiki's blush reddened, making Kita curious. The silence became awkward.

"Araiki, can I ask a favour of you?" she asked suddenly.

"Favour?" Araiki blinked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I need you to come with me somewhere tomorrow."

"Is this like a date...?" Araiki immediately realised the stupidity of his question and stepped back.

Kita raised an eyebrow. She shrugged. "Hm, well I guess so. It'll be the two of us, at least for a little while. We're going to go see that guy I faced in my match."

Araiki blush vanished and he stared blankly until Kita made a coughing sound. He snapped out of it. "Why are we going to go see that guy?"

The girl before him gave a slight expression of sadness and concern. "It's about his sister... I believe she was like us... A Jinchuuriki..."

It was Araiki's turn to look shocked as it sunk in. "Another... one of us..."

"Because she was taken away by the Akatsuki... My teacher just informed me of what they were reported to wear as their insignia, and matches what Uteki said about his sister being 'taken away by red clouds in a black sky'. I feel that it's our duty to tell him why, and perhaps find out some more."

"This proves that they are serious then about killing us," said Araiki angrily. His fist tightened. "Damn... this means they could be near to us then."

"I'm afraid so," Kita agreed. "For now though, we'll just have to find out what we can and try not to make waves." She looked away for a moment. _Doubtless they'd already know about me though... those mercenaries that attacked us on the road that time knew. There'd be so many people in Iwa to give me up as well, I'm sure of it. But what about Araiki and Gaara even? How safe are they?_

"Kita-chan?" asked Araiki.

Kita looked into his blue and green eyes and smiled again. "Hey, don't worry. Just meet me outside the stadium tomorrow and we'll go see Uteki, okay? It's a date!" She waved and ran off, leaving Araiki to himself.

_She's hiding something, _he thought before grinning secretly. _Yes! I got a date with Kita-chan! _

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Soooooo... how was that? Haha, I had you thinking Gaara would kill Tansei, didn't I? Gee I'm so sneaky! I'm glad I was able to get some semi-decent fights out of situations like that. Anyway, things are only just getting started!

**Jutsu used: **

Any not described here probably are official jutsu that you can find on Wikipedia or some other informative Naruto site, or ones I've described before. If there's anything more you would like to know, please ask. And any jutsu listed are available for you to use, as long as you seek permission from me first.

**Hope you enjoyed the semi-finals! Next chapter is going to be a fun and interesting one, so stick around. And remember to leave a review! Thanks guys. **


	39. Worries and Fears

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Whooooo, extra loooong chapter for you lucky people! Well, kind of at least... in comparison to what I've been writing lately... hahaha... now get ready for a shock!

**Questions for the characters:**

**Q- Rindou: Are you saying that you DON'T like Shuuki staring at you?**

**A- **Who'd want to be stared at all day? Not me! At least Shuuki could be more grateful to me that I haven't seriously wounded him yet!

**Q- Masakari: I bet that hurt a lot didn't it? **

**A- **AUTHOR INTERRUPTION! Masakari is dead! Nah, I'm joking... she's just passed out in a hospital bed somewhere.

**Q- Kita: How did you mean 'date'? **

**A-** Date... business appointment... anyway, you'll see.

**Q- Araiki: Do you really think she meant it as 'I love you' when she said date? **

**A- **Well, no... I wouldn't be expecting something like that straight away...

* * *

**_Chapter 39: Worries and Fears (to call my Own) _**

**Later that evening... **

Gaara's jade eyes turned towards the edge of the roof as a pair of feet landed lightly. Kita walked over to him.

"I thought I'd find you here," she remarked. She sat down next to him and looked out over the buildings. The sun was on its last legs, its red light giving out to the night. "Pretty..." She breathed before turning back to Gaara. "I'm going to go visit that boy I faced in my match today... I asked Araiki to come with me."

The red-haired boy gave a curious look at her. "Why him? He asked quietly.

Kita fell silent for a second, twiddling her thumbs. "Well... you're not exactly the kind for first impressions..."

Gaara shot her a glare.

"But it is true," she rebutted when she caught his look. She gave an apologetic smile. "It's just this once... Though I wish you could have come, because it's about this guy's sister."

"A Jinchuuriki," Gaara closed his eyes. "I overheard while I was walking past."

Kita blinked. "Why didn't you tell me before then?"

The older boy kept his eyes closed. "The both of you are... going out on a 'date', are you not?"

"It's nothing like that!" retorted the silver-haired girl indignantly. "He can call it a date, but I call it a business appointment... besides," She paused. "I don't know him that much and I don't see it ever working out between us if it ever did."

"...Cats and dogs have always been mortal enemies." Gaara opened his eyes again to glimpse over at her. "But, is there someone you can see it ever 'working out' with?"

Kita tapped her finger to her mouth for a few seconds with her eyes staring up at the sky. Gaara kept his eyes trained on her- secretly he had always enjoyed seeing it when she thought in that way.

"No, not really..." Kita said finally.

Gaara's brow twitched.

Kita continued however, not noticing. "I'm only eleven... I think it's a bit too early to be thinking about love... Also... I don't think anybody could ever love someone like me..." Kita's voice faded away into sadness. "Where ever I go, there's just hatred..."

An arm wrapped around her shoulders and Kita looked up in surprise. Gaara wasn't facing her, but his arm was still on her shoulder comforting her.

Kita smiled. "I'm glad that you're here at least, Onii-chan..." She leaned up against him and sighed with closed eyes.

She failed to see Gaara's bottom eyelid twitch as she did.

* * *

**At the hospital the next day...**

"Oh, there you are Uteki-kun! I've been looking for you everywhere."

Uteki looked up sleepily. He had fallen asleep on the side of Mikomi's bed while he waited to hear if she would be okay from her poisoning. Rei laid sleeping in his own bed in the next room, having asked Uteki to wait with Mikomi and keep an eye on her.

The nurse smiled. "Are you okay, Uteki-kun?"

The blonde-haired boy rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Hm, I'm fine. Just stiff..."

"Well you have some visitors who would like to see you, if that's okay. They asked to talk to you privately, so I sent them out into the garden to wait. It's early still, so not many people are out."

"Visitors?" He swept his hair out of his face, his hitae-ate having fallen off during the night. "Who'd want to visit me?"

"A boy and a girl I believe- they're just outside in the garden if you look out that window." The nurse pointed to the closed curtains.

Uteki walked over to the curtains and peeked out. His eyebrows rose instantly in surprise as he saw the girl he had faced yesterday and that guy he had seen in the prelims with the huge flame attack. _What do they want with me? _He asked himself silently. _And for that matter, they're not even from the same villages, so why are they together? Hm, damn..._

"If you go down the stairs and to the left you can get to the garden that way," advised the nurse helpfully.

"Thanks, but I'll take a shortcut," Uteki opened the window up and leapt onto the tree branch nearby.

The nurse sighed and closed the window after him. "Ninja boys... so rude and spontaneous sometimes..."

* * *

"Hey, what do you two want?" Uteki walked over to Kita and Araiki, hands in his pockets and his blonde hair looking scruffy without his hitae-ate. 

The pair was quiet for a moment before Kita decided to speak. "I think it's time you knew something important."

"What, like the pair of you are an item or something?" Uteki looked down his nose at them. He wasn't really in the mood for something like this right now.

Kita's fists tightened; Araiki blushed horribly.

"After yesterday, I thought you'd be a lot more respectful." Kita replied huffily. She calmed herself down. "Anyway, it's about your sister."

Uteki's face was a mixture of curiosity and irritation at her words.

Kita sat down on a nearby bench. "Look, we're not here to anger you. We just want to help you understand why she disappeared."

"You... you know?" asked Uteki suddenly.

Araiki nodded. "We found something out yesterday, and Kita-chan thought it'd be a good idea to tell you. Though if you're going to act that way to her, then maybe she shouldn't tell you."

"Araiki, its fine- he'll listen... won't you?" She cast a raised eyebrow at the blonde boy.

"Fine..." Uteki sat on the bench opposite her whilst Araiki joined Kita. His bad mood had seemed to disappear instantly. His face was serious. "So, tell me."

"What you gotta understand first, is that your sister was a special person," Kita explained. She didn't give Uteki a chance to speak, wanting to get it out all at once. "That's the reason why she was taken. She held a special power inside her that not many people have, and that made her valuable. So much so, that a group of missing-nin organised themselves into a group for the sole purpose of capturing people like that to gain their power. They wear dark clothing with red clouds on them..."

"Red clouds..." Uteki's mouth opened slightly as it hit him. "But that's-that's..."

"Like what your teacher said, yes." Kita nodded. "Your sister was taken by those people."

"You said she had a 'special power'. What do you mean?" Uteki face bunched into a scowl. "Tenkyuu was considered the genius in my family, but that's all... she didn't have any 'special power', not any that I could see. How do you even know about such a thing?"

The silver-haired girl sighed. "I just know... she might not have shown it to you, but it was there. She may not even have known herself actually..."

Uteki stood up, eyes glaring. "How do I even know you're telling the truth? You just suddenly turn up and spout off about this stuff when I've never seen you before in my life! How come you know about this when it doesn't even involve you? You have no idea what I've been through over this!"

Kita's brow twitched and she stood up to face him, although he was taller than her there was a fierce air radiating off of her. She poked him in the chest hard, forcing him to sit back down. "You have no idea at all how much this involves me and Araiki and what _we've_ been through! I could've chosen not to tell you what I know, but I thought I'd do you the common courtesy of doing so, because you deserve to know, even though in a way it's _you_ who's not involved!"

"Kita-chan..." Araiki gave her a concerned look.

"It's the truth," The girl shot looks both at Araiki and Uteki.

Uteki's hands gripped onto the edge of the bench as he was berated. He gave one more glaring look at Kita. "Then how does it involve you?"

Before Kita could reply, Araiki stepped in. "It's best you didn't know... or else you might get hurt too." He stood up and put a hand on Kita's shoulder, interrupting her bout of anger. "Kita-chan, we should go."

"Yeah..." agreed Kita, taking a breath to calm down. The two started to walk towards the gate out of the hospital's garden.

"Wait," Uteki seized her arm. "Just tell me one thing at least. Do you think Tenkyuu could still be alive?"

"Honestly, I don't know..." replied Kita quietly. "But I wouldn't count on it."

The blonde haired boy dropped his grip and looked down sadly at the ground for a moment. When he looked back up, the two had gone.

* * *

"Thanks for butting in there," commented Kita guiltily as the pair walked down a side-street deserted of people taking the Sunday to rest. "It's a good idea I brought you along after all." 

Araiki gave a small smile and a shrug. "Well, it was kind of my own neck on the line there as well as your own..."

Kita crossed her arms. "The nerve of that guy questioning me like that... I try to be nice..."

"Hey now, I think you were nice about it. That guy's just rude."

The girl sighed and stopped to face Araiki. "I know you're just trying to be nice to me, Araiki... but really... there's no need to be like that. Right now, tell me what you really think about me."

Araiki seemed confused. "I think you're nice, I mean it." Kita shot him a harsh look and Araiki looked startled for a moment. "Are you asking me to say something bad about you, Kita-chan? Because I don't believe that there is..." He glanced away and the tops of his ears went red slightly.

Kita wrinkled her nose at him. "Of course there's something bad about me, damn it. Something's wrong with me, and I have no idea what it is!"

"Kita-chan... there's nothing wrong with you," Araiki tried to convince her. He glanced around, seeing a few shop owners coming outside to open up shop. They cast curious looks at the both of them. "Can you wait a few minutes then so we can talk about it? I have someplace I'd like to take you."

"Sure..." Kita quietened down and followed behind him. _I don't know what's wrong with me today... something _is_ wrong, I know it. _

The two walked in silence for more than the 'few minutes' Araiki had promised. Soon, they passed the gates of the village and eventually walked into a small forest in the middle of a field of grass. Within the grove was a deep pond with clear water, as well as a strange round rock sitting on a tiny island in the middle of it. Araiki sat down by the water's edge and unstrapped his feet from his sandals. He placed his feet into the water and stared ahead at the rock. Kita scanned over the area. There were no birds here... not even insects buzzing in the morning heat of the day. It was too quiet for her liking.

"What is this place?" she asked curiously.

"A special place I come whenever I don't feel all that good... the village knows about the stone, but pretty much everyone avoids it so I usually get the place to myself," Araiki explained calmly, like the water had taken away all his worries.

Kita looked the stone over. There was something oddly compelling about it to her.

"It's called the 'Sessho-seki', the Killing Stone," Araiki answered her unspoken question. "It's said that the stone used to be the body of an evil Kitsune-woman was killed by a warrior, and her body turned into this stone. But then it was said she continued to haunt the stone, killing anyone who came into contact with it. However, a Buddhist priest stopped by it one day and was threatened by the spirit. The priest then performed some rituals and begged the spirit to repent. The spirit eventually relented and then left the stone, never to haunt it again." He smiled. "I believe it's true, because that man was my great-grandfather... the Buddhist priest known as 'Genno'."

Kita touched her hand to the water with a thoughtful expression. Araiki was showing her his special spot where he could find some solitude. In some ways, it reminded her of the place behind the mountain back home.

"I like to come here so I can remember that even a simple man can make a significant contribution."

"Is that why you became a ninja?" asked Kita, sitting down next to him.

He nodded. "After what happened with my father, I didn't want to become a ninja... but after seeing how much a ninja could do for people, I decided to anyway. Though, I've always felt like I forced myself into it, just so then I could show the rest of village that I'm not a good-for-nothing and that I'm strong. I don't think Houkou would have had it any other way though."

_Heh heh... you got that right, kid... _

_Stop that Houkou... this is personal time! _

_...Suuure... heh heh... _

Araiki shook his head softly to clear his 'thoughts'. He glanced over at Kita. "So why did you become a ninja?"

Kita swirled her hand around in the pond for second, trying to remember back to her earlier childhood but coming up with nothing. "Uh... well... actually, I've never really thought about it... family tradition I suppose. I doubt that the rest of my_ village_ would have had it any other way..." She gave a wry smile that faded quickly into sadness. "Not that I think they'd want me anymore..."

"How's that?" Araiki asked, wondering if that was the reason for her strange behaviour lately.

"I've been thinking what's going to happen to me after the Chuunin exams... the relationship between me and the majority of the village hasn't exactly been too good over the past few years... hopefully when I go back, they'll accept me. That's why I want to become a chuunin, to prove that I want to be a normal person. Lately though, I've realised that I won't ever be a normal person." Kita stared down at her hands and flexed them. Sure the skin was real enough, but on the inside...

"We're a lot more similar than it looks," commented Araiki quietly.

"Maybe our wants to prove ourselves are, but we're not..." replied Kita. "Not on the inside at least, even though we're both Jinchuuriki." She gazed into Araiki's eyes. "I've been worried. Nibi hasn't talked to me once since yesterday morning."

"Hm, well maybe she's just been sleeping?" Araiki offered. "I know Houkou likes to sleep for days sometimes- says he gets bored... and cats like to sleep a lot, don't they?"

"It's nothing like that," Kita's feet splashed the water exasperatingly. "Something's wrong, I know it! During that match with Masakari's sister... I don't know why I just lost it like that. I heard someone talking to me and egging me on, but... but I know it wasn't Nibi's voice. It was so much more different. It was like it was taking me over... and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it until they pulled me off her! I probably would have killed her if they hadn't!"

Araiki gulped silently. Maybe Kita was right... he'd seen that match. He had tried to rationalise it in his mind, but, that still didn't deny the fact that it was frightening in some way.

"Araiki, can you promise me something?" asked Kita, standing up and facing away. Her hands trembled slightly.

"Uh..." The boy nodded nervously.

"Don't ever give up, okay?" She turned back and smiled sadly. "Thanks for showing me this place. I'll see you tomorrow." She took off, running as fast as she could away from him.

"Hey! Kita-chan!" Araiki yelled after her, but it was too late- she had run out of sight. _What did she mean by that...? Houkou, do you know? _

_I got as much idea as you do, kid..._ Behind the bars that held him, Houkou's face looked concerned. He quietly mumbled to himself without Araiki hearing. _Nekomusume-girl is right, something is wrong... damn it, you stupid cat... not speaking when something like this is on isn't like you... what are you up to? _He growled. _You better not hurt my vessel with whatever you've got planned. _

* * *

Kita panted as she ran back to the village. She collapsed against the village's wall and covered her face with her hands. 

_Nibi! Talk to me! _She screamed in her mind.

There was no answer.

Kita punched at the wall in frustration. _After all that time I spent away from my friends... For so long you were the only one I could talk to. I thought I could depend on you, but now you abandon me when I need advice the most? I hate you, you know that! _

Still there was no answer. Kita placed her forehead against the wall and silently cursed at the demon and herself.

* * *

**In a café in Kusagakure... **

"You know, I'm worried about Kita..." Temari placed her hands tightly around her soda can. She glanced up at her brothers- Kankuro was shoving spaghetti down his throat like a pig whilst Gaara looked out into the street blankly. "Guys, did you even hear what I said?"

Gaara blinked and turned to face her, with the blank look still on his face. Kankuro choked on his spaghetti slightly and thumped his chest to get it down.

"You're always worried about something, sis," replied Kankuro, wiping the sauce from his mouth after she shot him a look. "Chill for once."

The aluminium of the soda can crinkled slightly in Temari's grip. "How can you sit there stuffing your face after you saw what happened at those matches before?" She sighed and changed her grip so the can popped back into place.

"Kita's mature for her age- she can handle it," Kankuro shrugged. "Though we've always known she's been a little..."

"A little...?" His sister raised an eyebrow at him warily.

Kankuro made the crazy sign with his finger to his temple, making sure Gaara wasn't watching. A soda can hit the puppet-user in the head. Creaming soda spilled over his hair and clothes.

Gaara turned back to stare at the street. He couldn't get the words 'Onii-chan' out of his head.

* * *

**Later at the hospital...**

Sora stretched and put his hands behind his head. "Yumi sure was upset over seeing Tansei wrapped up like that."

"That sand attack did more damage than we first thought," said Hana. "It'll be a while more before he fully recovers. There's not much more that can be done about the muscle bruising. It'll need to heal on its own."

Yanagi twirled a flower back and forth in her fingers. "Hey guys, do you think we're growing apart?"

Hana and Sora blinked as they looked at her.

"I mean... us and Kita..." she corrected her question.

"I'm not sure what to think," replied Hana thoughtfully. "But she has seemed pretty distant in the past few days. What about you, Sora?"

"Mm..." Sora glanced away. "Me either..." He stretched out further to look up at the sky and remembered what Kita had talked to him about yesterday in the medical centre. _Yanagi and Hana have no idea what happened yesterday,_ he thought. _Nobody has told them. And Team Delta saw it, but I don't know if they understand._ His eyes wandered over to one of the windows in the hospital wall. A blonde haired boy was staring out of it, up at the sky like he had been doing before. There was a look of sadness to his face. _That's the kind of secret expression I can see from Kita when she thinks nobody is looking..._

"Soraaaa, hey!" Yanagi poked the blue haired boy on the nose, breaking him from his stupor. "We're thirsty. Mind getting us something to drink?"

Sora instantly grinned and leapt up to salute. "Anything to serve my Yanagi-hime!"

"I'm out of change... you don't mind buying, do you?"

"Yanagiii-chaaan!"

* * *

**In Iwagakure...**

Hissori halted by a row of televisions. A group of people were clustered around it watching eagerly.

"Hey, what's going on here?" asked Kita's father, squeezing past. He stopped still with a confused look on his face when he saw what was on the television screen. "Kita?"

Suddenly the screen flashed to a new scene where he recognised Sora. The shots were so quick that he barely had time to make sense of them until the final screen which had the words 'Tune in tomorrow for our offiical broadcast of the Chuunin Exams live from Kusagakure!' on it.

"I'll definitely be watching that!" laughed a man opposite Hissori. "Hopefully that little witch will get killed during the fights! I'll probably record it too to watch-" Suddenly he was sent flying into the air by a punch to the face.

Hissori's eyes flashed dangerously and he lowered his fist. The crowd stepped away nervously and disbanded until the jounin had run off in the direction of the Stone Tower.

"To think that demon child would even dare to enter the chuunin exams!" spat an elderly woman to one of her friends. "Who does she think she is to enter like that?"

"I bet she thinks that if she's promoted that the council will welcome her back with open arms," replied another.

"She certainly won't be while I'm still here! It's dangerous to have a creature like that in the village!"

"In any case, I'll be watching to find out!"

The group soon expanded and word spread around town almost as quickly as Hissori ran to the tower to see if anyone else had heard about this "official" broadcast. If not, he hoped that the Tsuchikage knew something about it and was trying to stop it.

* * *

**Back in Kusagakure...**

Benkeino rubbed the stubble on his chin. There was a look of fierce contemplation and concentration on his face.

"Check mate," he announced, moving one of his chess pieces into the winning position on the board.

Rosuto groaned and threw his arms up into the air. "That's the fifth time in a row you've beaten me, Benkeino-sama!"

"Well, I'm not the Tsuchikage for nothing, Rosu- _achoo!_" Benkeino sneezed loudly. He rubbed his nose. "...Rosuto... hm, well that was strange."

"Is everything okay in there?" yelled Rein from the balcony as she hung out some laundry to dry.

"It's fine, Rein-chan," replied the Tsuchikage, waving a hand. _I just have this ominous feeling though... _

* * *

**A/N: **-insert happy smiley face of cliffhanger doom here- 

**Phew, I'm working hard guys, so keep me happy with reviews thanks! **


	40. Fear in the Air

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** No time for long author comments... I'm waiting for chapter 313 to come out! Darn, I wish the chapters wouldn't come out when it's nearly 1am here. Oh, 40 chapters! Yay!

EDIT: Ah! Chapter 313 just came out! I'm still waiting for the full translations but... but...

I think I need a hug... I'm starting not to like Kishimoto that big meanie! Sure Yugito was all cool and showed off her powers, but for what? Dude, what a cliffhanger (literally).

**Q- What does onii-chan mean? **

**A- **Darn, I forgot to put that it means 'Big brother'... not to be mixed up with 'Onee-chan' which is 'big sister'. Also, it should be noted that by placing 'chan' as the suffix it is less formal. Kita isn't the most formal of people really.

**Q- I've been wondering, why are Gaara's eyebrows non-existant? **

**A- **This was so funny I had to answer it... Gaara doesn't have eyebrows because (and this is what I learnt off of Cromartie High School), it makes him look more like a badass. Nah, that's not the real answer... it's because Shukaku doesn't allow him to sleep (gives quite a new meaning to having 'bags around your eyes'). Also, Shukaku is a tanuki (commonly called a raccoon dog) demon. The dark rings around Gaara's eyes quite resemble the eye markings of one, don't they?

**Questions for the characters:**

**Q- Sakura and Ino: Is your punishment over now? **

**Ino- **Do you know how long it took Shikamaru and Chouji to clean up?

**Sakura- **It's your fault, Ino-pig! You pushed me and made me bump into that cupboard with all that fragile stuff in it!

**Ino- **Well if your forehead wasn't so big, you might have missed it!

**RJ-** Aaaanyway...

**Q- Sora: Why don't you try something new to get with Yanagi? **

**Sora- **Hm, something new... I'll have to think about that then! Um... maybe I'll throw a rubber spider next to her and make her leap into my arms?

**Q- Yume: How's Tansei doing? **

**Yume- **The nurses said he wouldn't be out for a few more days at least! Awww, I hope he gets better soon! Hanging out with just Jieichou and the rest of Team Omega is boooring!

* * *

**_Chapter 40: Fear in the Air _**

**The next day... **

Monday morning... the day of the finals... The birds of Kusagakure instantly knew something was wrong about today. A person up in time to see the sun rise would not only have been witness to the rising of a blood red morning sun, but also to flocks of birds soaring away from the village in droves. By the time the majority of villagers awoke though, the event had passed and the sun shone gold. Few failed to notice the lack of birdsong...

Fingers twitched uneasily in a tree as Kita slept. She had been up there the whole night previous, trying to talk to Nibi. However, her efforts had been in vain and she had finally fallen asleep there, mentally exhausted.

Kita's brow was locked in a frown as she slept. Her fingers continued to twitch. Something was up...

* * *

_I know this field..._ thought Kita as her bare feet took her along an animal track in the damp grass. Small purple flowers were scattered throughout the grass, smelling fragrantly like lavender. The world was quiet... untainted... 

"Ah!" Kita leapt back and pulled up her foot- there was a large thorn embedded in it. She pulled it out and cringed.

She looked down to where she had stepped and felt shock course through her body- the flowers and the grass just died before her. The field became barren, except for large thorny vines that covered the ground. Kita felt nervous at the sight of them. Carefully, she picked her way over the spiky vegetation and came upon a white basin standing alone in the field. The vines ran up its base and covered the top. Kita leaned over to look inside as she heard a gurgle.

Something wet splashed up and hit her in the face. Kita held a hand to her cheek and lifted it off. Her palm was covered in blood. The fountain began to bubble, blood spilling out onto the ground and spreading out. Kita ran away from it, back towards the safe greenness of the field. But as her feet touched the grass, it began to shrivel. New vines tore forth from the ground, attempting to ensnare her in their thorny grip.

One of them looped around her foot and sent her sprawling into the dirt. She got to her hands and knees and scrabbled backwards as the blood and vines approached.

Her hands hit a solid object behind her and Kita turned. A never-ending wall was preventing her escape. Small crackles of black electricity radiated off of it into the darkening sky. Kita's eyes widened as the vines created their own wall. She was trapped. Blood washed over her hands and feet on the ground. Kita raised her trembling hands to look at the blood.

_But isn't this what you wanted? _Asked a quiet voice.

Kita's eyes darted around madly searching for the source of the voice. A black thing leapt over the wall of vines and landed.

The large panther-like creature smiled deviously, revealing long sabred teeth. _I thought you wanted this... You had the choice and you chose me..._The feline lifted a blood-soaked paw from the ground and licked at it gently. The creature's eyes flickered up, staring at her like she was prey.

_This is you, is it not?_

Kita gazed into the creature's eyes. They were the same... the same misty purple as her own pair. "What are you talking about? I never had a choice!" she exclaimed.

The panther growled. _That's what you thought... you had so many other choices, but you chose to let someone else make the decisions for you. Because of that, _I _never had a choice but to follow. _

"What do you mean?" asked Kita.

The panther's eyes glanced up at the wall for a moment before looking back at Kita. Suddenly the creature gave a screaming snarl and leapt onto her. Kita threw her arms up in defence as the panther bit down, sabres slicing into her right arm. It pushed her arm forward towards her throat.

_You will find your choices have consequences, Nekomusume... nobody is safe from you... _

Kita felt her throat constrict and she looked down. Her body trembled as she saw her own hand, with long cat-like claws digging into her neck. Blood flowed from her neck to join the blood on the ground...

The panther glanced back up at the wall and smiled...

_You're not in control..._ whispered the wall.

* * *

Sun hit Kita's eyes and they shot open. Her heart felt like it was thumping in her throat. Her right hand quivered as she brought it up to her face and saw the claws extending from her fingers. They slid away, becoming normal fingernails once more. 

_What... what was that?_ Kita checked her hand again, wondering if what she had just seen was an illusion. _But... that isn't right... I shouldn't be able to have claws when I'm like this..._

Kita glanced around; the streets were full of people making their way towards the stadium in the distance. The memory of the dream started to become a past blur as she became fully awake.

_What am I supposed to do? _She asked herself worriedly as the adrenaline brought her out of her drowsiness- only the dreadful feeling of the dream remained now._ I don't feel right about going, but I have to if I'm going to make chuunin. I'm doing this to prove myself to everyone that I want to be helpful, and that I'm not a threat... _

Kita's thoughts paused for a moment, straining to remember the dream, before she straightened up confidently. _I'm not a threat... I'm going to win this, no matter what. I have too much to lose. _

Kita untied her hitae-ate from around her waist. She touched the metal plate briefly, running her fingers along the symbol of her village. The metal flashed in the sunlight as she tied it back on, around her forehead... as a sign of respect.

The Iwa genin leapt out of the tree and began to run along the rooftops towards the stadium.

* * *

Yanagi paced up and down the hallway of the motel worriedly. Hana opened the door to their room and peeped out, stifling a yawn. 

"Yanagi... what are you doing?" she asked, blinking sleepily.

The black haired girl stopped in front of the door, her blue eyes concerned. "I didn't see Kita once all day yesterday, and on top of that, she never came back to the room either."

"She didn't?" Hana looked back into the room and noticed she was right. Kita's bed hadn't been touched. She turned back. "Well, it's not like she _has_ to come back- she did live out in the wild by herself for a year. Though, that is still a little strange."

"Today's the day of the finals. She knows better than to go wandering off when something like that is happening!"

Sora opened the door to his hotel room that he was sharing with Rosuto, already dressed and ready for the day. He had a few bandages still wrapped up around his chest under his shirt. "Good morning, Yanagi-chan!" He called happily, waving and grinning.

Yanagi glared at him. "Now's not the time for that! Kita never came back last night."

"It's strange," said Hana.

"Hm, that _is_ strange," agreed Sora. He shrugged. "We'll probably see her at the stadium- no worries."

Yanagi growled, unconvinced.

* * *

**Elsewhere... **

"Gaara?" Temari walked out into the back garden of their hotel. Her younger brother had been out there all night, just staring down at the fish that swam in the pond. "We haven't got too long until they want us at the stadium."

"She called me 'Onii-chan'," muttered Gaara softly, still staring down at the pond.

Temari blinked. Had Gaara actually responded to her for once? Most times he didn't even look at her, but just walked on. Now here he was saying... wait, what did he say? "Do you mean Kita?"

Gaara gave the barest of nods.

"Well there's nothing wrong with that. That's kind of sweet of her actually," she smiled. "I wonder if she'd called me 'Onee-chan' too then?"

Temari stumbled backwards as Gaara pushed past her angrily.

_What was that about? Geez, you'd think I'd know him by now too..._ The young woman sighed agitatedly and headed back into the hotel to collect her gear. "Kankuro, I swear you'd better be up or all hell's going to break loose!"

* * *

**At the stadium...**

Shuuki held his hand out to Araiki. "Good luck, okay?"

Araiki smiled and shook it. "Thanks... I'll need all the luck I can get."

"Sure you need it," responded Rindou sharply. "We know you can kick the butt of anyone in this competition! You've also got Houkou to help you out too."

The brown-haired boy frowned. "I'm not going to rely on him to do everything for me, Rindou. If I'm going to prove myself, I'm going to have to do it myself."

A shocked look spread over his face as the girl gave him a light kiss on the cheek and grinned.

"Fine then, you _will_ need all the luck you can get. Shuuki and I will be in the stands cheering for you, okay?" Rindou grabbed Shuuki by the arm and began to drag him away.

"Ow, Rindou! My arm!"

"Oh stop being such a baby, Shuu-chan!"

Araiki gave a red-faced wave as they left for the stands. Suddenly he was pushed to the side as a red haired boy shoved past him into the participant's entry.

"Hey, uh, Gaara-san! Wait up!" The Gobi Jinchuuriki ran after him down the hallway. A tendril of sand latched around his wrist just as he was about to grab Gaara's shoulder.

"What do you want?" growled Gaara threateningly, not turning around to face him.

Araiki was taken aback. "I... I just wanted to wish you good luck..."

"Is that all?" asked the sand-wielding genin arrogantly.

"Actually, no," he replied cautiously. "It's about Kita-chan. I've been worried about her lately."

"She can take care of herself," replied the red-haired boy, still refusing to face him.

"How do you know that?" Araiki asked. He gritted his teeth as the sand tightened around his wrist.

Gaara turned around slightly, brow furrowed deeply. "How do you know yourself?" replied Gaara as the sand relinquished its grip, returning back towards the hall.

Araiki rubbed his wrist, angered with Gaara's lack of concern yet saddened at the same time. _I thought that since we all have something so much in common that we'd get along..._ He thought back to yesterday beside the Killing Stone when Kita had rebuked him. _But in the end, we're still just different people from different places... we're not the same at all... _

His nose twitched as he smelt someone familiar. Kita halted beside him, staring down at the ground.

"Are you ready for the matches, Kita-chan?"

"Yeah..." Her voice shook slightly. She placed her hands behind her back.

"Good luck then..." Araiki wished her quietly and walked on down the hall towards the waiting room.

After he had disappeared from sight Kita drew her hands out from behind her back to stare at them. She caught the last tips of claws sinking back into her fingernails. _Why just then when I saw Araiki? _She asked herself worriedly. She shook her head. _No, this isn't out of my control. I am in _total_ control. _

* * *

Jouryoku tapped on the desk with a finger as he watched the television screens in front of him. Technicians worked feverishly around the place fiddling with dials and checking screens. 

"Jouryoku-sama, everything is in order!" yelled a man from across the room.

The leader of the Grass nodded. "Alright, listen up!" The room quietened down. "This is live to air, not just recording footage like yesterday! Everything, and I mean_ everything_, will be perfect. No details will be missed, okay?"

"Yes, sir!" came the cry of the technicians, going back to their heated pace.

"I won't be here to supervise so you'll have to take care of it yourselves! I am _not_ to be interrupted while I am with the Tsuchikage and the Hokage!" Jouryoku stood up. Taking one last scan around the room to make sure his words had been heeded he left to walk up the stairs to the top floor.

When he arrived he found Tsunade and Benkeino shooting each other looks of animosity, making him nervous. However, the show needed to go on he reminded himself, hoping that his plans would not go astray.

* * *

**In the stands...**

Kiba let out a yelp of pain, causing Hinata to jump.

"Damn it, Akamaru! Why'd you scratch me like that?" The boy looked down and frowned as Akamaru replied to him in yips and growls.

"What's wrong, Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked worryingly. Shino glanced over as well.

"Akamaru's just been acting all weird today," explained the scruffy genin. "He says he's got a bad feeling... though I must admit I'm feeling it too."

"There are many strong shinobi here, Kiba," said Shino quietly.

Kiba scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "I suppose you're right, but still it's pretty damn unnerving."

"You know what's unnerving? The fact that I didn't even get to see the preliminaries! And all because these jokers were so slow in cleaning up!" Ino sat down into a seat in the row in front of them and twisted around. Chouji and Shikamaru joined her looking thoroughly worn out.

"That was the most humiliating thing in my life!" Sakura plonked down next to her and sighed.

"Sakura-san!" yelled an enthusiastic voice from nearby. Lee appeared waving brightly, taking a seat on the other side of her with Tenten. "Let us watch these matches and cheer for our lone comrade Neji, using the FIRES OF OUR YOUTH!"

The pink haired girl's eyes narrowed. "Make that the second..." she grumbled noticing the strange looks from surrounding visitors.

Akamaru gave a whine and backed up underneath his master's chair, tail between his legs. There was a feeling in the air that just couldn't be denied.

* * *

"I'm so sad Tansei couldn't make it!" pouted Yume disappointedly. "I wanted to watch the matches with him!" 

Yanagi felt like throwing up inside. _Sure she's let go of Sora, but now it's even worse that she's latched onto Tansei... I can't help but feel sorry for him though. _She looked beside to the next seat where Sora was sitting. The boy was staring down at the field, for once not annoying her. In a way, Yanagi wished he would turn around, give her his best grin and say everything was okay.

She sighed.

* * *

**In the waiting room... **

The room was silent as the six competitors waited, occasionally glancing at each other and wondering if that person would be their opponent.

Neji's brow twitched as he looked across at the silver-haired girl opposite him. _This girl mustn't be more than eleven years old yet she made it to the finals. She's no ordinary genin... If anything, she reminds me of _him His white eyes slid over to Gaara, whose brows furrowed at him.

_I shouldn't have stayed up so late..._ Kankuro blinked blearily, casting his eyes around the small group. _Damn... well at least I hope I don't have to fight Gaara. He's been definitely more moody than usual. _Temari bumped into his shoulder as she shifted her weight around uncomfortably.

_It's not normal for me to feel so nervous, _she thought worriedly. _I'd have no problem with most of these guys. Even in training matches Gaara found it difficult to pin me for a few minutes... but then why do I feel like I don't want to be here? _She chewed her bottom lip and looked up at the ceiling. _That Nara guy will be here too, won't he? _

Gaara quickly glanced over at Kita- the girl had been staring at the floor since she had come in with her hands behind her back as she leaned against the wall. He remembered what the Houkou boy had said to him earlier about being concerned about her, and then remembering his response that she could 'take care of herself'. Flashes of memory surfaced in his mind, the sight and the smell of blood as he looked at the shredded shell of Kita within his sand's protective grasp.

_She hadn't been able to take care of herself that day... _he thought to himself, _Big brothers are supposed to look after their siblings, aren't they? That's what Temari told me... But then... you are supposed to look after anyone you think is precious... _

* * *

**Flashback...**

_"Don't... don't come closer!" yelled Gaara desperately as he saw the blonde haired genin using his chin to crawl forward. Despite looking exhausted, the boy continued his efforts until he gave out and buried his face into the dirt. _

_Shock spread over Gaara's face as he saw the tears in the blue eyes of the boy when he looked up. "Being alone... being incomplete... what you must feel... what your pain must be, I understand that..." Teardrops splattered onto the ground wetting the dust. _

_The red haired boy stared in silence. How did he know the same pain...? _

_"But..." continued the boy in an ever-tiring voice, "For the people that are precious to me, to be able to... The people that are precious to me... if you are hurting them..." _

_Gaara's breath hitched in his throat as he saw the boy's gentle blue irises become an intimidating blood red surrounding slitted pupils. _

_"And if you are trying to kill them..." he growled threateningly, eyes staring daggers. "I will stop you..." _

* * *

As Gaara's mind drifted back to awareness of the place he was in, something that had been said to him so long ago came back to him. 

_An affectionate heart that gives all of itself for those important people, and is watching over them... _

_Love... that's what made Uzumaki Naruto strong... He saved those people for the sake of love_, he thought remembering the battle and something newer.

_"Uh, good luck..." _

_"I don't need luck," _

_"At least do your best then... for Kita's sake." _

_I agreed to fight for her sake that day... I fought that kid for her sake... I started to fight for the sake of others instead of myself after I met both of them... Uzumaki Naruto and Mitsukai Kita... _

* * *

Araiki glanced around at the others in the room. _All these people are so strong. I'm going to have to be strong too. Kita told me yesterday not to give up. She believes in me deep down that I can prove myself. She won't give up either, I'm sure. _

_But... if we end up fighting each other how will we be able to prove ourselves? If neither of us is going to give up to reach our goal, then won't that defeat the point? We'd just end up fighting each other with brute strength, not with our resolutions. _

He snuck a look at Kita quickly. _Why does she have her hands behind her back like that? She doesn't usually seem to stand like that. _

* * *

A drop of sweat dripped off of Kita's cheek as she tried to stay still. Since entering the stadium she had begun to feel slightly ill. 

_The nerves are probably getting to me,_ Kita thought shakily. _I don't want to have to fight Gaara or Araiki... It'd be horrible to fight Araiki after he told me he wants to prove himself... _

_Kill..._ whispered a soft voice.

Kita froze. _Nibi? _

The voice had vanished. More sweat dripped off of Kita's brow.

Suddenly the stadium above rumbled. Loud speakers emitted a booming voice welcoming the crowd. The door slid opened and flooded the room with sunlight.

_This is it, _thought the genin, eyeing the door as a man stepped through.

"First match- Genno Araiki versus Mitsukai Kita."

* * *

**A/N: **Da da daaaaaum! Cliffhanger! Hmm, don't you hate it when you wake up and you know you've had a horrible dream but can't remember it? And then the feeling of it follows you around all day? That's sorta what got me writing this chapter. Reflections are good too. 

**Hehe, until next time! Something big is coming! **


	41. And so the Demon Smiled

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Firstly, I want to thank Clark for all the terrific help with the chapter! Thanks hun! This chapter wouldn't have been anywhere NEAR as awesome without your advice.

And for all you guys, thank you as well for your reviews, critique and ideas. You've been giving me all a lot to think over and improve. Chapter 41 is kinda like a special chapter for you all. I was going to waffle and leave a HUGE cliffhanger, but I thought I'd give you all a break for once. Haha, you guys deserve it. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, entitled 'And so the Demon Smiled'.

**Q- Are any of Gaara's fangirls gonna show up for his fight? **

**A-** I don't think he really had any fangirls before becoming Kazekage...

**Questions for the characters:**

**Q- Uteki: Do you know a girl named Yugito from your village? **

**A- **Author interference! Since this story is now officially AU with the appearance of Yugito in the manga, I'm just gonna pretend that she doesn't exist... though that makes me feel guilty now.

**Q- Kasukako: Where are you now? **

**Kasukako-** On the road with Maboroshi-kun and Hyouden-san- our sensei came to get us after hearing what happened... we failed the village. But next time will be different! If that Mitsukai girl is there again, I'll be going after her!

**Q- Rosuto: Make any moves on Rein yet?**

**Rosuto- **Oh, um, well, about that... we've been a little busy... yeah...

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 41: And so the Demon Smiled _**

Kita's purple eyes widened.

Araiki gulped quietly.

"Would you please both move out to the field, thanks," The ninja at the door disappeared.

Araiki was the first to exit, with Kita following after. Kita stared at the ground silently, hardly even noticing the crowd as they roared excitedly. Amongst the crowd, the rest of her team cheered for her.

At last the two stood facing each other on the field.

"Kita-chan,"

The silver-haired girl looked up, her body shaking slightly.

"I know you won't be giving up on me today," said Araiki, placing his hands into fists. "We both have points to prove to these people. So let's make this something to remember!"

"'Something to remember'," repeated Kita, glancing at the ground. "Alright."

"Competitors, ready!" shouted the voice over the loud speakers. "GO!"

Araiki's hands blurred as they performed a succession of hand-seals. "_Doton; Doryu Taiga_!"

Kita felt like her hands were blocks of concrete as she performed her own set. She finished just as the river of mud was about to surround her. "_Hiton; Boshi Enkou_!"

She slammed her hands down into the ground as her bloodline's attack appeared. The halo split the earth open and begun to spin, tossing rock and dust up into the air. Araiki's mud attack poured into the gaping hole left and Kita heaved her halo back out of the ground. She threw her arms forward, flinging it at Araiki.

The brown-haired boy threw himself onto the ground as it bounced over him like a beach ball, leaving large holes in its wake. The glowing object hit the concrete wall of the stadium, lodging itself into it before disappearing.

"_Hiton; Boshi Enkou Enchou_!"

Araiki gave a small 'Oh damn'. He scrambled to his feet and ran as a small army of glowing and spinning halos came rolling towards him. As he ran he worked up more hand-seals. In a burst of speed he put himself a fair distance away before skidding to turn around. "_Katon; Kasumi Engo no jutsu_!" He opened his mouth, spewing out an unseen material.

The boy turned tail and ran when he was satisfied. The halos approached closer and closer, sparks crackling off as they spun in a rapid blur. Araiki dived behind a tree...

_BOOM!_ The area exploded as the halos came into contact with the invisible gas Araiki had spewed out. A sea of fire took over the landscape, burning grass and destroying Kita's attack.

The girl's eyes widened as a tidal wave of pure fire came speeding for her. She pulled out a kunai and jumped down into the hole her first attack had made. She dug her kunai into the earthen wall and held on tightly. She felt the top of her head heat up as the fire roared overhead, just missing her. Sweat covered her face. She felt drained although it was so early in the match still. When the fire had ended, she crawled out of the hole, panting heavily. She stood up and looked around- Araiki was nowhere in sight.

"_Suiton; Funsui no jutsu_!"

"_Hiton; Enkou Shouheki_!"

Kita slid backwards as her halo slammed into her, pushed from in front by a powerful jet of water.

"_Futon; Daitoppa_!"

Water sprayed everywhere like rain as a gale ripped through the stadium. Kita shielded herself against her _Shouheki_, straining to keep the invisible chakra wall in the centre stable whilst getting drenched in the process. Araiki was throwing jutsu at her even faster than what Tansei could. It was hard to even _defend_ against him, let alone attack, and even harder to concentrate...

"I'm sorry Kita-chan!" yelled Araiki over the wind and rain. "But I'm going to have to win!"

"No, not yet..." Kita murmured to herself, turning her back against her halo and bracing herself. "I've gotta at least create a break." She took her hands off of it and worked up a series of hand-seals. "_Hiton; Boshi Enkou En_-"

"_Raiton; Denba_!"

White flashes of lightning zapped over the wet ground almost too fast for the eye to see, drawn towards the chakra in Kita's halo. The girl's body seized up as the electricity coursed through her and over the shield she was braced against. Just as she regained sense of her body and stood up, Araiki appeared, running swiftly with his shoulder out. He barged into the halo heavily, breaking Kita's concentration on it and tackling her over onto the ground.

Kita struggled as the larger boy put a knee into the small of her back and pinned her arms behind her.

"I don't want to hurt you, Kita-chan. You should give up," advised Araiki, trying his hardest to be both gentle and firm at the same time. Throwing all those jutsu at her had worried him the entire time, but it had been a necessity.

"You said we should make this something to remember," replied Kita, straining against him. "It's not the same if you won't hurt me." She stared at the ground for a second calmly, gathering breath.

Araiki was shoved to the side as the girl contorted her legs to kick at his sides. Kita wriggled herself free to fall onto her back. She gritted her teeth from twisting her legs in such a way before getting up.

The two gazed at each other momentarily. Kita's face was pale and shone with sweat. She looked like she was having trouble keeping herself steady on her feet. Araiki gripped his hands into fists, panting slightly. In his mind he was conflicted with what to do next.

The decision was made for him as Kita jumped at him with a kick aimed for his face. Her work was sloppy however, and Araiki was able to easily dodge it.

"Kita-chan, you're tired! You shouldn't push yourself!" exclaimed Araiki, dodging another off-timed kick.

The sweat dripping off of her face looked like tears as she pushed forth. "I can't stop..." she cried. "If I don't become a chuunin, I'll always be alone!"

Araiki stared at the girl in amazement. "You're not alone though. There are heaps of people out there! Your team mates... teachers... and there's me too! You don't need an entire village to love you! I know that... you just have to remember that there _are_ people out there already!"

Kita's punch fell short. She looked up at the crowd where her team mates were cheering, then back to Araiki. She paused silently for a minute, thinking his words over. It finally dawned on her that she had been so stupid thinking she needed her village back when she didn't. Araiki had survived the same thing. He knew that if you had at least some true friends, then it was better to hang onto them than trying to convince others that would never truly be friends.

"Yes... you're right." Her shoulder drooped as she spoke. "There are many people... I didn't think I'd ever become friends again with Tansei and his team, but things have been changing, if not slowly. And I met you too... I've met lots of people..."

An image of three particular Sand shinobi flashed up in her mind and a smile played on her lips.

"Araiki," Kita gazed into the boy's green and blue eyes. "You know, it doesn't matter anymore... As long I have those friends, it'll be okay... You're the better shinobi anyway..." She stood up proudly suddenly. "Take me out, Araiki!"

Araiki blinked in surprise. "Bu-what?"

"I won't give up, so you'll have to take me out! Take me out with your best jutsu!" yelled Kita determinedly. "Show your village you're strong!"

Araiki let her calls sink in.

"Do it, Araiki! Don't make me push further!" Kita clenched her jaw tightly before working up a new series of hand-seals. "_Hiton; Enkou Shouheki_!"

"_MOEAGARU_!"

Kita's halo broke in two and shattered as a pillar of pure fire slammed into her. The silver-haired girl flew up into the air, a fist-shaped burn on her face. As she was flying through the air, the girl's pupils contracted into slits before she landed heavily on the ground. She slid a small way before halting, a crumpled and unconscious mess on the ground.

The crowd looked on in hushed anticipation, wondering if it was over.

"Winner, Genno Araiki of Kusa!" screamed the over-excited voice of Jouryoku over the megaphone.

The crowd erupted into a roaring cheer and Araiki looked up, hands on his knees as the fire around him extinguished itself.

He smiled, feeling the appreciation of the crowd... and feeling thankful for Kita's sacrifice. He found Kita's sprawled out form and ran to her.

"Kita-chan! Kita-chan, it's over!" he yelled as he reached her. He bent down to pick her up.

His eyes widened as suddenly Kita's hand shot up and wrapped around his throat.

"Well, well, well... if it isn't Houkou's little flunky..." purred a voice. Kita's face turned up from the ground, a wide smirk on her lips. Golden cat-eyes glared at the boy amusedly.

"Kita-chan...! Wha-what are you doing?" Araiki demanded amongst a series of gasps. He managed to wrestle her hand off and gripped at her wrist tightly.

The silver-haired girl smiled. She tore her hand from Araiki's grip and leapt to her feet. Pops resounded from her body as she cracked various joints around. "Kita-chan, nyan? My, how unobservant of you... I thought the mongrel would have taught you better than that."

Araiki's eyes narrowed as he realised. "Nibi..."

"Clever boy! You finally got it..." she purred. She glanced around with slitted eyes. "Well, this sure is a drab place... It's missing something..." Kita's body flared up with black chakra and a pair of cat ears twisted their way out of her head. Nibi cracked her knuckles as long claws appeared. A black cat's tail twitched behind her playfully as she grinned with sharp teeth.

Screams came from the crowd, causing Araiki to look up into the stands. He thought people were screaming in realisation. He was wrong. Above the stadium the sky turned a blood red. The ground became dead-looking as the world was drained of colour.

Chaos erupted in the stands as translucent white apparitions appeared around the place. Creatures with looks of sheer terror and pain limped through the stadium, clawing futilely for help at those in the crowd.

Nibi scanned the area, taking in her handiwork. "That is so much more like it. Though I am rather hungry..." She whipped around and grabbed the throat of one of the spirits near her. The ghost wriggled helplessly as it was sucked into the Nekomata's hand. She spat on the ground. "Disgusting... stale souls are nowhere near as delicious as freshly harvested souls." She eyed the chaotic crowd momentarily and smiled.

* * *

Benkeino stood up and placed his hands tightly around the short wall in front of him. His face paled.

"No, it can't be..." he whispered nervously as the sky changed colours.

Tsunade stood up quickly, looking around with an expression of shock and anger.

Jouryoku backed away as one of the ghosts walked through him. The communicator he was holding to man the loud speakers dropped to the ground. "What is this?" he asked in a kind of awe.

Rein and Tsunade's silver-haired jounin pulled out kunai whilst Rosuto's brow twitched at the familiarity of the situation.

"Those won't work here," advised Benkeino, not flinching as another one of the ghosts shuffled through him.

Tsunade turned with a furious look in her eyes replacing over her initial shock. "Benkeino, it isn't...?"

"Evacuate the spectators and ready yourselves..." ordered the Tsuchikage.

"Hey, what are you talking about?" demanded Jouryoku, not having caught on. "This is just a genjutsu!"

Benkeino grabbed the man by the shirt. "You idiot, this is no genjutsu- it's every bit as real as you and me. You _will_ evacuate the spectators now. And I mean _everyone_, even your ANBU. Unless," He pointed down at the smiling girl on the field. "You want to die by her hands."

The Grass Leader pulled himself free. "_Her_?"

Tsunade's eyes didn't leave the field as she spoke. "The Nekomata is free... and unless we evacuate, everyone in this stadium is going to die."

* * *

Kita yawned and blinked her eyes open.

"Is the battle over, Araiki?" she asked in a mumble.

Pain coursed through her boy, awakening her.

"What is this?" Kita looked around with wide eyes. She was trapped under something and couldn't move. She struggled only to find tight vines binding her hands and feet.

_No use squirming like a little mouse..._

Kita turned her face to the side, just enough to see a large panther on her back pinning her down.

"Wait, you... I had a dream this morning! I remember it now! And you... what the hell are you doing!" she screeched, remembering the dream fully and struggling again only to feel sharp claws dig into her back.

_Now, now... what did I tell you? No wriggling! _The panther's eyes narrowed. _It's your fault we're in this state anyway. _

"State? What state?" demanded Kita angrily. "You mean that I've been slowly losing my mind over the past few days, and now I've finally lost it!"

_The past few days... you thought your behaviour was your own fault? For once, it wasn't entirely your fault,_ replied the creature, unamused by her prisoner. She bent down closer._ Let's just say the one responsible... is now responsible for your body. _

"Nibi...?" whispered Kita nervously. "But... how...?"

_Stupid idiot..._ hissed the panther. _Haven't you even been noticing this? From the very start she was manipulating you, from the very first day of the flawed sealing. First she manifested those abilities to allow you to see the spirits, and in the making started what would be your eventual departure from Iwagakure by creating hatred amongst the people there. And then when you made that stupid decision to get yourself killed. That was the big break she had been hoping for. You screwed up by allowing yourself to go back to life. _

"But that wasn't my choice; it was Shinigami-sama's- ow!" Kita felt claws dig into her back again.

The creature snarled. _You listen to me, human. You made mistakes, and you should know what they were! Shinigami-sama didn't realise Nibi's real reasoning for wanting you to go back. She could have had your body and been free to destroy everything she wanted, but since she was still trapped in a human body, she wanted more from it. And you had something more... something powerful. _

"You mean my _Hikari no Shuujuku_?"

_Now you're catching on, very good..._ She purred._ However, there was one problem with Nibi's plan, and that was compatibility between the two of you. Human and Bijuu chakra is a strenuous mix. So she convinced Shinigami-sama that you should be turned into me, using that knowledge of a coming 'threat'. I was born on that day when your mind was split into two sides- humanity and instinct. However, I wasn't a powerful presence in your mind at first. _

_From this, Nibi was able to manipulate me, your instinct, and yourself by training you to use her chakra so your body would become tolerant. But at the same time, she was training you to finally awaken your bloodline. And it did when you tried to become human again... Now this is the end for us. Nibi will use us as the catalyst for her and your powers. Let's hope your Gobi friend is able to fend her off. One of her side plans on her way to power was to take him out... _

"Araiki..."

* * *

"KAI!" Araiki held his hands together and poured chakra into the air, waiting for the red sky to return to its normal blue hue and the colour to return.

Nibi held a twisted smirk on her face as he did.

_Kid! Cut that out! This is no genjutsu; it's the Plain of the Dead where lost souls roam! You're just wasting chakra doing that. _

_Wait... this is REAL?_

_Heh heh... what'd you expect? She's the damn lap-cat for the Shinigami. Opening up a partial gateway like this is no sweat for her. Be glad she hasn't done anything more than that and let the damn creatures actually _into_ this world... some spirits can get pretty nasty if they're allowed. _

Nibi's expression fell into one of fake disappointment as Araiki ended. "Oh, so you finally figured it out... I was going to tell you before to repay the favour you did for me, but I decided not to..."

"Favour?" repeated Araiki with a mingle of confusion and anger on his face.

"Well, you did free me after all..." She flashed a grin. "How else would I have been able to gain such control unless the body worked itself into a state of chakra depletion?"

_... So she used you to deplete the girl's chakra down to a serious level in order to take over. She had been working at it before, but the draining was too slow. _

Araiki eyed the creature. "You used me for the final blow..."

"But of course- for the sake of irony at least, because I plan on killing that deserter Houkou." she hissed.

_Heh heh... sly bastard cat... I didn't think she was still upset with me over the battle with Kyuubi. _

Nibi's tail flicked curiously as she became distracted. Her ears twitched up towards the stadium, followed by her eyes. "Hm, trying to get away, nyan? Pitiful humans..." She looked back at Araiki with a miffed look. "I apologise, but you'll have to wait for a moment while I... take care of business."

She turned towards the crowds, still gripped in the climax of chaos and fear. Many of the attending ninja were torn between what to do. Some were attempting to fight the ghosts off, only to have their attacks go through the apparitions. Others tried to calm the crowd and evacuate them towards the exits, but to little avail.

Suddenly, Nibi slashed at the air with a hand. Golden lines flashed in the air momentarily before an explosion rocked the benches. People started to scream. Those with ninja training had been able to leap out of the way, but for those without...

Nibi slashed at the air again. Another explosion erupted in the stands. Bodies flew everywhere. People scrambled for their lives. ANBU jumped in to save the injured.

The demon smiled.

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Bet you didn't see that one coming... haha... well actually; it's been kinda obvious since the start of the exam. Anyway, I at least bet that you can't wait for the next chapter!

**Jutsu used: **

Any not described here probably are official jutsu that you can find on Wikipedia or some other informative Naruto site, or ones I've described before. If there's anything more you would like to know, please ask. And any jutsu listed are available for you to use, as long as you seek permission from me first.

**Hiton; Boshi Enkou Enchou **_(Light release; Spinning Halo Extension)_(Kekkei Genkai ability) (No rank) An advanced form of the _Boshi Enkou_that creates multiple halos at once.

The _Enchou_ command can also be used in the normal _Shouheki _attack.

**Raiton; Denba **_(Lightning release; Electric field)_(Ninjutsu) (Lightning element) (C rank) Sends electrical currents over an area. However, it is best used in conjunction with a water jutsu to drench the area to act as a conductor.

**If you guys have any questions, go ahead and ask. Other than that, remember to leave a review! Thanks guys! Hehe. **


	42. Playtime is Over

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Hehe, well here we are! I've been planning this since the start of the story. My gosh, that was so long ago! Anyway, let's get to it!

**Q- How is Kita taking all of this, being stabbed in the back by Nibi? **

**A-** Not very well I'd think...

**Q- Will there be a Houkou vs. Nekomata fight? **

**A-** You'll have to wait and see for that one...

**Q- Who is the strange eternity telling Kita about Nibi? **

**A-** I guess you can think of it as her instinctual side, the thing that sometimes makes her act like an animal.

**Q- Why am I talking like this? **

**A-** No idea... cookie?

**Questions for the characters:**

**Q- Panther-Kita: So... whose side are you on? Nibi's human-slaughtering, soul eating one; or Kita's I-want-a-normal life side? Or are you on one of your own? **

**"Panther-Kita"- **I'm on neither side I suppose with my morals. I have my own wants and needs too, though at the moment I'm stuck working for Nibi. The human Kita is a bit of an annoyance, but it seems I'm stuck babysitting her too.

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 42: Playtime is Over _**

Uteki blinked as he saw cloud of smoke billow out from the stadium.

_They must be having some pretty amazing fights over there,_ he thought vaguely, still feeling sleepy from waking up next to Mikomi's bedside again.

"Ready the available beds!" yelled a voice outside the room. A couple of nurses rushed past with a trolley bed in tow.

"Huh?" Uteki stretched and stood up, wandering over to the door. He stuck his head out and gave a yelp as he leapt back, having nearly had himself crushed by a small herd of medical staff. The place had erupted into chaos. "What's going on?" he tried to ask on the nurses running past.

"Not now, not now!" yelled the woman.

Uteki scowled. What was going on here then? He ran out into the hallway and followed a new batch of staff down towards the emergency section.

"His arm! His arm is gone! That girl! The explosion!" Tears flowed from the face of a woman in a panicked state. She clung onto the side of a trolley bed, her shirt covered with blood.

Around her, things were no better. Uteki's eyes widened. What _had_ happened? Explosion? What girl?

Warning beeps erupted from a small machine latched onto another patient in a bed, a small girl.

"She's going into shock!" screamed a nurse over the noise. The beeps merged into one single monotonous sound. The nurse looked desperate. "We need a defibrillator, quickly!"

"There's none left available!" yelled another.

The first nurse gave a short gasp as a blonde haired boy pushed past her to place his hands on the child. The girl's body arched as an electric shock went through her. The girl's eyes flew open as she gasped for breath. The boy stumbled back, relieved.

The nurse nearly collapsed onto her knees.

* * *

"Kita!" yelled Yanagi amongst the chaos, trying to get through the crowd to the field. Sora grabbed her hand and tried to drag her away forcibly. "Let me go, Sora!"

"I'm not going to let you get killed! The others have gotten out of here, so do we!" retorted the blue-haired boy furiously. He glared at the creature as it destroyed the stands around them. Sora pushed Yanagi to the ground as another explosion erupted nearby.

Yanagi's fists tightened as she lay on the ground. Tears dripped from her eyes.

"Yanagi-chan, come on!" urged Sora. "It'll be okay..."

"No, it won't be!" screamed the girl. "Remember what happened last time? This time is different! Kita needs us!"

Sora pulled Yanagi up from the ground and picked her up. "Kita wouldn't want us to be killed by her own hands!" He held onto her tightly with a look of pure hatred on his face. _I get it now... the past few days, it was no coincidence. Damn it... why...? Why now? _

The boy gave a yelp as a muscled arm wrapped around him and Yanagi. "Are you kids okay?" asked Benkeino.

"Yes, we are." Sora choked out as the man leapt into the air, away from one of Nibi's random attacks.

Yanagi sobbed into the Tsuchikage's sleeve quietly.

"What's going to happen to Kita, Tsuchikage-sama?" asked Sora worriedly.

The man was silent in his reply as they landed near to Tsunade outside of the wall. The woman was furiously bellowing commands at the people who had escaped. Jouryoku stood where he was, looking totally dazed and nervous.

"You two go find the others, and stick close to Rosuto and Rein," whispered Benkeino to Sora and Yanagi as he put them down. Sora nodded obediently and pulled the sobbing form of Yanagi away into the crowd. The Tsuchikage straightened up to face Tsunade, who had turned her aggressions to Jouryoku.

"You call yourself a leader!" screamed the woman, shaking the poor man angrily. "You didn't even train your ANBU how to react to such a situation, let alone have an evacuation plan! All you care about is the splendour you're surrounded by! You don't care about your own people!"

She dropped him onto the ground as she noticed Benkeino. Her thin brows furrowed deeper as she stormed over to him.

Benkeino held up a hand. "I know... you don't have to say it, Tsunade-dono... But now isn't the time for finger-pointing. That other Jinchuuriki boy is trapped in there with the Nibi. If we don't put a stop to it, this whole village may end up levelled."

The man pulled a small scroll out of his pocket and opened it. He waved a hand over it. Out from the smoke emerged a thick staff- at one end a small crescent-shaped blade; at the other, a large shovel-like blade. The weapon was larger than the Tsuchikage himself.

"You're serious if you're to be using that..." remarked Tsunade darkly. "The infamous _Jinkoujishin_..."

Benkeino looked at the weapon nostalgically. "It's been a while, old friend..." His eyes narrowed as he turned his sights on the stadium. A cloud of dust covered his tracks as he disappeared.

Tsunade grabbed Jouryoku by the back of his jacket. "You are coming to help protect your people for once!"

The green-skinned man gulped. "I wish the girls were here..." he mumbled, hoping Tsunade had stopped listening.

* * *

Araiki stepped back with wide eyes as a body dropped to the ground. Nibi licked her fingers, blood on her claws.

"It's not much fun when they run..." she mused, looking up at the stands which were empty save for the dead bodies which littered them. "I had been hoping for some more mice to chase... I tried so hard to gain use of this Bloodline and now there's nobody to play with... except you..."

Araiki felt the stare of the creature on him. He returned the glare. "Even though you're a demon, you're still stuck in a human body! And that means you can be defeated still! When the Kages come they'll stop you!"

Nibi chuckled. "Oh, I don't think so..." she purred, tail waving slowly. "That's where you're wrong- because if I get killed, then poor Kita-chan will die too. You don't want that, do you?"

The brown-haired boy's mouth opened slightly in realisation.

The two of them looked behind as a thumping sound echoed throughout the stadium. Suddenly a loud crash and an explosion of dust blew out from the stadium wall. Rubble from the wall flew into the air. Out of the dust a boy with red hair like blood appeared, arms folded.

Nibi's ears flattened close to her skull. "Shukaku..." she hissed softly. "I beat you once... surely I can crush your container this time around too."

Gaara walked over to opposite Araiki, blocking Nibi off.

"This doesn't include you, boy," spat the demon angrily.

Her voice was cut off as a tendril of sand lashed out from Gaara's gourd and wrapped itself around her neck. The sand dragged her on her toes until she was a metre or so away from the boy. The look in his eyes was unsettling.

Nibi struggled as more sand lashed out to wrap around her arms, binding them tightly. She eyed Gaara with a slight smirk suddenly. "You wouldn't hurt your 'little sister' now, would you? You're not supposed to hurt the ones you love..."

With great difficulty, she strained against her restraints to lean in closer to him. Her voice was quiet and almost hypnotising as she spoke.

"But..." she whispered, "Maybe you _do_ want to hurt her... to punish her for not giving you what you want. I'm sure you know what I mean."

She didn't move as Gaara tightened the sand's grip slightly. Secretly, it amused her to see that she could almost see the anger welling up inside the boy.

Her eyes narrowed. "You were looking for something more than just the love of a sibling, right? All your life you've yearned for someone to give you that one thing you've missed out on. If you kill me, then that chance will be gone forever.

With Kita gone, you'll find that nobody else will show you the same affections. Never, not even after you've died- nobody will shed a tear for you... We don't want that now, do we, Gaara-kun? You wouldn't kill the only one who could ever love you back?"

"I... will not be manipulated," growled the red-head threateningly, his eyes widening with anger. The sand tightened. Nearby, Araiki's eyes lowered to the ground.

"Gaara!" yelled a voice from the wall. The boy's jade eyes flickered up towards the voice's direction. The Hokage stood atop it, looking down on the trio. "Kill her, Gaara! Don't let her escape!"

Benkeino stood close by, looking ready to intervene. Jouryoku was on her other side, looking hesitant.

"I do not take orders from you, Tsunade-sama," replied Gaara tersely. "And this situation is none of your concern." He unlocked his arms from his pose and began to build up a series of hand-seals before placing his hands on the ground. The earth rumbled deeply.

The three leaders on the wall stumbled from as the quake grew more violent.

"What is this?" asked Jouryoku, trying to keep his balance.

Tsunade's eyes widened as walls of sand emerged out of the ground and covered the stadium, blocking off all outside intrusions. "Damn it!" She roared, punching at the wall.

"Tsunade-dono!" Benkeino grabbed her wrist before her fist could connect. "Don't... he's trapped her in there with them. If we create an opening, then we're only increasing the chances of her escape."

Jouryoku shrugged with a slight look of relief on his smirking face. "It's all part of his plan probably. We shouldn't interfere, you know."

"Don't just stand there acting all high and mighty in front of _me_ again after something like this!" retorted Tsunade, turning her anger on him once again. "You're a snivelling coward, expecting him and one of your _own_ genin to take care of the situation!"

"Araiki..." Jouryoku's brow twitched. "There's no need to concern over him."

He was lifted off of his feet by the taller woman. "You're not even one bit concerned over one of your own shinobi? I was right, you are worthless!"

Jouryoku, for once, was unfazed by her. "And yet you're unconcerned about the fate of this girl? Have you considered asking Benkeino-sama of what he thinks? After all, she is one of _his_ shinobi. And what if it was one of your own in there?"

Tsunade gritted her teeth and let go of him. She glimpsed vaguely at the Tsuchikage beside her.

"It is not just a case of protecting one of the last of a renowned bloodline," said the man quietly, eyes on the sand dome before him. "But because I believe that she deserves more of a chance than what others think she should. Like you, Tsunade-dono... I can tell that you've done the same thing for someone before. It's more than just a simple second chance... it's giving someone hope and the knowledge that they have someone they can turn to.

You can understand that, right? You may have your own misgivings about the girl, but you shouldn't hold them against her. She's only a child. The past we lived in doesn't exist in the youth of the present. This next generation of shinobi we are raising... it's our responsibility to give them a chance so that they can pave over our mistakes." The grip he held on his prized weapon loosened. "We've spilt too much blood in our age."

_Bastard... he's right. Hasn't Naruto taught me anything? _The woman turned to stare up at the sky above the sand dome, which faded back to blue without the influence of Nibi.

* * *

The sand dome climbed high over the top of the stadium. Eventually, all trace of light faded from within.

"Hm... so you think you can trap me, nyan?" asked Nibi playfully, her eyes giving off a dull lustre.

"No," replied Gaara from the darkness. "I'm preventing you from using Kita's bloodline."

Araiki's nose twitched. Something was wrong. "Gaara-san!" he yelled.

The sound of moving sand and a loud thump gained the red-haired boy's attention. Soon multiple thumps resounded against Gaara's instant shield.

"_Katon; Go kahen hi_!"

Red light flooded the stadium as a large flame roared out of Araiki's mouth. The light bathed over Gaara and Nibi, as well as the small army of corpses surrounding them. One by one, the corpses took goes at flinging themselves at Gaara, only to be met by an instantaneous wall of sand.

"What a nuisance that thing is..." remarked Nibi angrily, her tail swaying behind her as she controlled the bodies. Her ears twitched, hearing the faint sounds of buzzing and whirring. "Well, well... looks like I'm quite the lucky one today." The creature closed her eyes and smiled.

Gaara shielded his eyes as suddenly the stadium erupted in light. Araiki's fire cut off as he let out a shocked yelp. The stadium lights had automatically switched themselves on, filling the place with an intense brightness.

Nibi laughed and commanded a group of her dead puppets to break through the sand binding her. She leapt into the air with a back-flip and landed on all fours.

The two boys blinked until their eyes adjusted. Realising the dome had trapped them all in, Araiki ran over towards Gaara.

"Gaara-san, are you okay?" he asked, grinding to a halt as a wall of sand flew up to stop him from going any further. Araiki frowned. "We're supposed to work together on this, aren't we?"

"I can handle her myself," replied Gaara stubbornly.

The girl smirked lightly, moving the bodies she commanded to form a tight ring around her.

Araiki's brow creased as he looked between the two. "I know... that there's something between you and Kita now... but... But that doesn't mean you should cut me out of this! I have just as much right as you to help her! And I will help, wether or not you like it!"

The sand fell away from the wall and Gaara looked over, his arms crossed back across his chest. "Fine... but don't get in my way."

"Fine," nodded Araiki, his face flushed with resentment.

"Oh, so have we kissed and made up?" grinned Nibi sardonically, making both boys twitch with anger. "Good thing you hurried up. Who knows _what_ kind of devious thoughts are going through this mind of mine?"

"That's not _your_ mind, it's Kita's!" retorted Araiki.

Nibi sniffed. "It was a rhetoric question, boy. You're not meant to answer. So what are you two going to do now?"

Araiki glanced across at Gaara, then up at the stadium lights. "We should take the lights out."

"Being in the dark would only give her the advantage," replied Gaara. "At least, for you it would..."

The brown haired boy's nose wrinkled. "You don't have to say it like that..."

Gaara ignored him to glare at Nibi. "You're stalling," he remarked coldly.

The demon gave a mysterious smile. "Perrrrhaps..."

The Shukaku vessel's brows furrowed. The creature was up to something- wether it was trying to work out a battle plan or waiting for something to happen, Gaara wasn't sure. It was hard to think for some reason. Seeing Kita's face but knowing it wasn't her in there made that old bloodlust bubble up again. The sand from his gourd wafted around him, yearning to grab at something and squeeze it to death.

Araiki couldn't stand it anymore. They couldn't just stand around! Not while they had no idea of what was happening with the real Kita. Time could be the only thing they had to save her. Araiki formed hand-seals and burst into flames. "_Moeagaru_!"

The pillar of flame that was Araiki charged forth at the ring of dead puppets. Nibi twitched her tail and the puppets flew into the air over him. Araiki stumbled, missing his shot. Not to lose the opportunity though, he fell into a handstand. His feet wrapped around the legs of one of the bodies and slammed it into the ground as he righted himself back up. The brown haired boy continued his rampage, punching at the bodies that came his way. However, as much as he tried to knock them down, they would get spring back up, seeming to be free from harm though many of them had burns on their skin.

"They're dead; they can't feel it you know, nyan?" Nibi giggled. "Oh, did someone mention the word 'dogpile'?"

Araiki gave an 'erk' of surprise as bodies started to slam into him, forcing him to the ground before piling up on top. The boy's flames were smothered as more corpses piled up. Araiki's one free hand scrabbled at the dirt as he tried to get free. The weight of the bodies was too much though and he could feel the breath slowly escaping from his lungs.

Nibi's ears twitched as she watched the amusing display. Suddenly she leapt into the air as a Shukaku-shaped claw of sand passed under her, grabbing onto the pile of bodies.

Nibi growled at Gaara as landed on all fours. "Don't ruin my fun!" Claw marks of light flew at mix of sand and corpses lifting into the air.

Gaara moved his hands, causing the sand to swerve. He directed it to stick onto the side of the stadium wall.

Araiki gasped for air and awkwardly got up onto his feet. His chakra supply was dwindling. He held a hand onto his aching chest and breathed deeply.

_Hey, kid. Do you need help? _asked Houkou. Araiki noted the tiniest sound of worry in his voice.

_No, I said I'd do this myself..._ he replied.

_That was for when you were fighting the girl, not this bitch. This is an entirely different level from what you're used to. _

_I can do this myself! _Araiki assured the bijuu.

Houkou snorted in return. _I would implore you to reconsider... but it's your body. _

_I'll think about it, okay? I've got worse things to deal with right now! _The boy stared at the demon-possessed girl in front of him. Anger made his body shake.

Nibi was snarling, her tail lashing back and forth angrily and her knuckles clicking as she attempted to liberate her puppets. The free limbs of the corpses waved feebly in response, but they were stuck fast with the confines of the sand. She turned furiously towards Gaara, fangs bared and her ears laid back across her skull. Her golden eyes glinted as she glared at him.

The red haired boy gave a slight smirk back. Things were serious now. Just the way he liked it...

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Huzzah! Sooooo... how are you guys liking the story so far? Hope you've been enjoying it.

_Jinkoujishin-_ 'Artificial earthquake'

**Until next time! **


	43. A Life I Didn't Mean for

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Gosh, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long! I had uni troubles and writer's block (curse you, writer's block, curse yoooouuu!).

No questions this week, I'm afraid... I want to get this up chapter up and over with already. It's been like a leech on my brain for too long.

* * *

**__**

**_Chapter 43: A Life I Didn't Mean For _**

Kita's body went limp as her hope began to dwindle. She had no idea what was happening with Nibi in control of her body.

_It won't be long now..._ said the instinctual side of Kita, still sitting on her back. The panther lessened her claw's grip on Kita.

"Long... as in dead?" asked Kita in a choked whisper. Her hands tightened at the shrivelled blades of grass under her.

_No... not dead... though it could be considered one..._ replied the panther. _A half-life, devoid of those emotions you humans think it necessary to live by. _

"Why did this have to happen..." whispered Kita softly. "I don't want anyone to get killed..."

_...You don't have a choice anymore... there are no more decisions left for you to make now. It's over... for both you and me..._

Tears splattered onto the grass of the field. For once, Kita actually felt like a human being, feeling both fear and insecurity, and wishing that she had someone to hug her close and tell her she'd be safe.

Someone... like her father... or even Gaara...

Kita paused abruptly as she thought the red head's name. What was Gaara doing right now? Was he trying to stop her, or worse... dead? Kita shook her head. He couldn't be dead... he was like a big brother! Big brothers never gave up. Kita's gaze stared up at the black sky of the field. "Big brother..."

_Is he really a big brother to you?_ asked the panther as her ears twitched at Kita's voice.

"What?" Kita twisted her head to see the panther on the edge of her vision.

_You are young and inexperienced. Though I do not know the true extents of the emotion, 'love', that you humans place so much emphasis on; I can at least see that you are mistaking one form of love for another. He's not a sibling like you make yourself believe he is. You are just too afraid to admit anything other than that because- _

"Afraid?" Kita's knuckles went white. "You talk to me about fear, but you're just afraid as I am!"

_How dare you,_ hissed the panther, sliding her claws back into Kita's back, _I despise fear over everything else. Fear is a useless response reserved for humans and prey!_

"Then you're a damn hypocrite!" retorted the girl angrily. "You fear Nibi, because you're _her _prey! Didn't you ever try to stand up to her and not go along with her plans? I know you don't want to be in this situation anymore than me!"

_I should kill you right now..._ The panther bent down, fangs bared. _Useless, pathetic excuse- _

Suddenly, the panther's words faded into nothingness as a dark shadow was cast over them. She turned her head up to the darkening sky.

Kita was sure she felt a shiver flow through the feline's body. Though, soon the feeling spread to her own body as it felt like Death was breathing down her neck.

The vines binding her crumbled apart as they withered away.

"I won't give up without fighting back," she murmured, "and if I'm unable to... then..." She rested her forehead on the ground for a moment, silently hoping it wouldn't have to come to that. Kita placed her palms flat on the ground, readying her muscles. Her toes curled underneath her as she prepared. Suddenly, with a straining heave, she pushed herself off the ground, causing the panther on her back to topple over.

Kita fled across the dying fields, feeling a cold and terrifying presence forever behind her. An earth-shaking screech sounded behind her. Kita couldn't help but turn her head to look. The creature screeched again, sending waves of pressure through the ground. Kita tripped over and skidded along the grass, her eyes wide and full of fear as she turned back.

"Is this... Nibi?" she whispered to herself. She trembled in terror.

* * *

Nibi's eyes flickered back and forth between Gaara and Araiki. The situation had become rather difficult with the two of them facing her.

However, she never let herself be caught without _some_ kind of backup plan to support her. And this plan would end it all. The furious look on her face melted to a sly grin.

"Well boys," she purred meticulously, covering her mouth slightly as her grin widened. "it's been fun, really it has..."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Araiki angrily. The grin on Kita's face by Nibi looked so wrong to him... it saddened him, but at the same time, filled him with anger.

Gaara sent an enquiring glare along with it as Nibi's eyes once more flickered between them.

Nibi's expression turned serious once more. "I might have had to let you not suffer this if you had not interfered, but you did. Now you will see the consequences of what you have done... she will suffer because of you both and your pitiful ways."

Araiki's fists tightened and Gaara's brows furrowed even deeper.

The demon spat, "You brought this upon her. And your fates will be decided by her at the end."

Nibi fell onto the ground with a soft thud.

* * *

The creature before her looked like it was from the very pits of Hell. It towered over her- a skeleton, like a cat, but mutilated and deformed in everyway nightmarishly possible. Black flames burned off the very bones and last scraps of flesh that stubbornly hang off of it. Skeleton bat wings spread wide, looking like spindly, warped fingers as a pair of rotting tails lashed behind it. In the creature's mouth it held the panther that, moments ago, had been guarding Kita. The creature's eyes glowed golden, full of malice and death as it flicked its head, sending the smaller feline in its teeth to land before the girl with a thud.

Kita leaned forward and placed a hand on the panther to shake her. The panther coughed; her breathing husky and shallow... and then gave a nervous laugh.

_You know... you're right. I am a hypocrite! _The panther's eyes rolled around madly. _I'm afraid... I've never felt this depth of fear before... so this is how it feels to be prey... I understand now... the true plan... _

"Wha-What do you mean...?" Kita's hands trembled as the panther shakily rose to her feet.

_She's going to eat us- absorb our souls. We're not going to just die; we're going to _become _her... part of her... _

Kita's eyes widened slowly. She stared up in dread as the creature towering over them eyed them off hungrily. Fire poured out of its mouth like a waterfall, causing the already-dying grasses of the field to catch alight around them. The blood-like red glow of fire flickered across the girl's paled face.

The beast's screeches tore through the burning field as its skeletal paws descended upon her. Kita was unable to escape as the massive digits scooped her up from the ground with a mound of dirt. The creature sat on its hind legs and used the other paw to swipe up the panther. The smaller feline hissed and attempted to fight back.

"No! Don't!" yelled Kita, feeling pressure as the claws tightened around her.

_I can at least try to stand up for myself this once... _The panther's purple eyes looked enraged. _I was a coward, and I was wrong... It will be your human emotions that won't let you be betrayed so easily_. She clamped her fangs down into the creature.

Kita screamed as she heard a bone-shattering crack.

The panther's head rolled around limply- her body broken by the larger creature's claws.

Tears streamed down Kita's face as she looked up at Nibi. "Why are you doing this?"

Nibi's mouth widened into a twisted grin of razor sharp teeth...

_Because you made it... _

The creature's claws closed in around her in an ever-tightening squeeze.

**CRACK **

* * *

Blood dripped with a soft 'plip' onto the ground from Kita's mouth as she struggled onto her hands and knees. Her hair hung like a curtain over her face as she struggled to breathe.

"Kita!" Araiki attempted to leap over to her before a hand made of sand blocked him.

"She's not safe," Gaara warned sternly.

Kita's hand stretched out towards the red head shakily.

"End... it..." her voice cracked with a whisper. She stared up at him with void white eyes. An unfinished kanji for 'Seal' was printed on her forehead.

Gaara's arms dropped to his sides as Kita screamed. Black chakra engulfed her like fire. For a brief moment, Gaara felt a pang of panic- it seemed like an all too familiar scene to him.

The chakra expanded out, gaining definition and taking form. Araiki almost stumbled back in fear at the sight of the white eyes void of all emotion. Kita's screams changed into screeching yowls as the feline creature finally took shape over them.

"Kita!" yelled Araiki desperately.

The creature paused before it licked its teeth at them hungrily. Black claws slid out from its paws as it scanned the two boys over. Its gaze landed on Gaara and it pounced.

Gaara's eyes widened momentarily as it bore down on him. Just as the claws were about to strike, his sand flew up and created an instant sphere. The creature's paws bounced off and it snarled. It went again with both paws, attempting to crack it like an egg. The shield began to split under the tremendous pressure upon it.

Araiki spun around as darkness swept over him suddenly. He felt panicked- being put in the dark like that scared him...

"She is preoccupied with the other shield," said Gaara's voice in the shadows. Gaara held a pair of fingers over one of his eyes, keeping watch.

"What are we supposed to do?" asked Araiki, finally realising he was inside another of Gaara's sand shields, "And why am I in here?"

"Your defences in this situation aren't reliable," replied the other boy in a calm voice, "and you don't realise what the situation is."

Araiki frowned deeply. "Of course I know what the situation is! Kita's been changed into some huge angry cat by Nibi and we have to save her!"

Gaara's brow twitched. "This isn't a 'damsels in distress' fairytale. We are the ones in danger- even Kita knew that."

Araiki paused as he opened his mouth, remembering hearing Kita whisper '_end it'_. They were both right. It wasn't Kita's life on the line exactly... it was their's as well.

"Nibi was right, when she said our fates would be decided by Kita..." he said quietly. He straightened himself up. "What do we do then?"

"Brace yourself," Gaara advised, crouching down.

The brown-haired boy had no time to respond as he abruptly crashed back against the wall of the shield. Scraping and gnawing sounds echoed from outside.

"She's going to break through!" Araiki went silent as if he was listening to something. He turned to Gaara with a strange expression of worry on his face. "Houkou is offering to take care of her for us... He says you should let Shukaku as-"

"No," Gaara exclaimed, with a slight tone of fear in his voice. He recomposed himself quickly, however. "We are not going to have more than one bijuu on the loose."

Araiki grumbled quietly. "Then what..."

"Run and then attack," Gaara ordered. The shield broke in half over them.

Araiki gave a yelp and leapt out of the way as a massive paw came down. It barely missed him as he and Gaara went separate ways.

_Gotta attack... but what with!_ Araiki racked his brain for an answer. He heard a roar behind him and glanced back. "Oh damn..."

A large fireball was hot on his heels behind him. Araiki raced towards the small lake, forming hand seals.

"_Suiton; Funsui no jutsu_!"

Jets of water burst out the lake and struck the fireball, sending steam billowing across the field. Further inside the mist, he saw flashes of light.

"I have to do something..." Araiki frowned. Though their lives were in danger, he still didn't want Kita to have to die because of it...

* * *

Gaara watched as Kita swerved around, trying to pick a target. She settled on Araiki's retreating form first, belching out a fireball after him. She turned back to Gaara, crouching down on her front paws. The sand from Gaara's gourd flitted around in a seemingly nervous manner.

A bright flash of light made the red head shield his eyes. His sand flew up in an instant barrier. The three halos that were aimed for him shattered against it.

Kita hissed angrily, tails lashing from side to side.

"_Doton; __Retsudontensho_!"

Araiki appeared opposite to Gaara, slamming his hands on the ground. Pillars of rock jutted out from the earth around Kita. The creature's ears perked up in surprise and she hopped her paws around as the pillars attempted to wrap themselves around her legs. She swiped her claws at the ones in front, breaking them into pieces.

"Not strong enough..." Araiki grimaced. His eyes widened as he suddenly saw the black-flamed animal leap over the remaining pillars towards him.

Half-way into the air, a barbed arm of sand walloped Kita in the jaw, sending her off-course. She slammed into the side of the wall before getting up and shaking her head dizzily.

"Don't hurt her!" Araiki yelled at Gaara.

The other boy scowled at him- though either in disgust that he was suggesting that was his intent, or because he thought he was weak for not doing the same, Araiki couldn't tell.

Araiki glared back. "We just can't kill her!" he yelled, leaping up as Kita slashed at the air and sent a trio of halos through the air at him. The attack barely missed the bottom of his feet.

Gaara's shield flared up as another barrage came for him. He sent two more fists of sand in retaliation, hitting her in the side and pushing her over. She screeched furiously, angry at not having been able to rid herself of the two humans that plagued her. The one that smelled like dog seemed like easy prey; but the tanuki one was protecting him... the creature flinched uneasily. Something about this didn't feel right all of a sudden. Her mind ticked over, taking the situation in.

Araiki stared up; Kita had seemed to freeze in her attacks. "She's stopped..." he said wonderingly.

_Hey, kid..._ whispered Houkou smugly, _I have an idea, but I need to get out to do it... heh heh... _

The shaggy haired boy frowned. _You heard what Gaara-san said- 'We are not going to have more than one bijuu on the loose'. And remember what I said too! I'm going to do this myself!_ Araiki paused before thinking again. _What is your idea anyway? _

_Did you see that kanji on her head? It's unfinished, isn't it? _

Kita snapped out of her seeming-stupor and attacked again- this time spitting a fireball out at Gaara before leaping over it in an attempt to catch him off-guard from behind. Araiki broke his conversation with Houkou briefly.

"_Doton; __Doryu Taiga_!" A wave of mud flew up over the fireball, effectively dousing it, whilst Gaara handled the creature's claws with another arm of sand to knock her back. The red head made no signs of acknowledgement towards him.

_Heh heh... Kid, now's not the time to be egotistical, you know... _

Araiki's brows furrowed. _Yeah, you're one to talk... _

_Heh... just shut your mouth and listen; that kanji you saw on the girl's forehead is incomplete. _

The boy's eyes widened. _Wait, incomplete...? Is there a way we can complete it then? Would that stop what's happening? _

_If you _did_ let me take over, I could... _

_No. The whole situation would escalate until the whole village is in ruins. I'm not going to allow that. _

_Heh... fine then..._ Houkou grumbled, _Shall I continue then? If you complete the sealing, then Nibi's power will be locked behind it and then be unable to influence the girl any longer. However... _

_'However'...? _asked Araiki uneasily.

_There seems to be more to it than just this simple manipulation. I've been slowly sensing it, and the girl's unique chakra signal has been warping. _Houkou grumbled again softly. _Ingenious, really... to gain the girl's bloodline, she is absorbing her after voiding her of most of her emotions so she can't fight back. _

Araiki could only stare as the creature that was Kita swiped at Gaara. She was trying so hard to kill him amongst the thick walls of sand that flared up to deflect her quick slashes, and the Shukaku-like claws that sent its own blows. Particles of sweat beaded on Gaara's face as he fought back against her. He glanced back at Araiki temporarily and glared.

The Gobi Jinchuuriki felt a surge of urgency. _Houkou! Just... just tell me how to stop this! _

_Heh heh... if you wish... though this would have been simpler my way... _the demon replied indignantly, _because I have only intermediate knowledge on your human seals. However, I am _very_ knowledgeable on _demon_ seals. There could be a way to layer a demon seal on top of the human seal, using human attributes to combine them. _

_...What? _Araiki was sure the demon was rolling his eyes at him.

_I know of a human sealing method called the 'Five Element' seal. It was one of the few human sealing methods that really interested me because of particular similarities to the seal knowledge I have. If you were to use the basics of this technique with human chakra, combined with the different powers of my own chakra, then it would be enough to complete the seal. And being a demon sealing technique, it would not be able to be broken by a mere human. _

_But what about Nibi, since she's a demon too? _asked Araiki, his face wincing as he wished the canine demon would speak faster.

_Nibi doesn't have knowledge on seals to the extent I do, nor does she know much about manipulating elemental chakra. Her own chakra does not allow her to be able to do that, which is why she worked around the original seal to try and gain the girl's chakra and abilities. It's all very complicated, heh heh... I don't think you would understand. _

Kita and Gaara were at a standoff, both showing signs of fatigue, though Gaara was worse for wear than she was. He had to pour extra chakra into his shields to strengthen them, even though they were already working at their default maximum. It was tiring work for sure as he both defended and matched her, blow for blow. And although Gaara had his pride, he was angry that he was receiving no support. The other boy was just standing there, just seeming to stare into space... though, and Gaara at least expected, he was talking to his demon and finding some way of ending this.

Araiki frowned. _It doesn't matter that I don't understand that stuff about Nibi- all I need to know is how do _I_ do this sealing thing of yours? _

_Quiet, kid, just listen for a moment... what is about to happen may be rather stressful on your body. _

_Stressful? _

_Heh heh... You're going to have complete access to my chakra. _

Araiki's blue and green eyes widened.

_Got that, kid? Now take note... _

* * *

**A/N: **Erg... why does chakra have to be so technical? I understand the sealing methods just fine, but I'm hopeless at explaining them (don't ask me, please don't).

Anyway, hope this chapter was enjoyable in some way...

**Until next time- the conclusion to the battle! **


	44. Bittersweet

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** I'm really glad to have finally got here. And guess what! TTA has been going for pretty much over a whole year now! My gosh... I feel like such a nerd for spending so much time on this... but it's been fun, hasn't it? At least I'm hoping you guys have been enjoying this...

Anyway, here's the ending to the battle... I still can't believe it's taken me a year just to reach this, which started off as such a small spark when I first began...

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 44: Bittersweet _**

Sora clung onto Yanagi tightly- the younger girl was distraught. Her bloodshot eyes had finally dried after crying for what seemed like hours...

"How long has it been?" he asked quietly.

"At least thirty minutes..." replied Hana just as quietly, glancing up at the clock on the wall. They had been evacuated into a building of some kind, not knowing from the chaos that had surrounded them. Rein and Rosuto had just ushered them inside before running back to see if they could aid the Tsuchikage.

They were alone; Yanagi, Sora, Hana, Yume and Jieichou. Yanagi had her face buried into the side of Sora's neck whilst she had her arms wrapped around his arm. Sora stroked her hair. He'd never seen her like this before. He almost wondered how she'd react if they found Kita had... he shook his head.

_No, Kita's not dead... they wouldn't really kill her, would they? _

He silently prayed she would be okay.

"I hate this!" exclaimed Yume suddenly, standing up. Her magenta eyes flashed angrily. "I want to know what's happening! I want to know if Tansei is okay!"

"He'll be fine, Yume," replied Jieichou in a calm voice.

"I want to know!" retorted the blond, marching her way towards the door. She was pulled back as Hana grabbed her hand.

"Please, Yume-chan..." begged the green-haired girl, "we should do what Rein-sensei and Rosuto-sensei said. It's for our own safety."

Yume crossed her arms and pouted as she sat back down again. "It's just so horrible having to wait like this!"

Silently, everyone else agreed.

* * *

Sweat was dripping off of Gaara as he poured more chakra into his sand. He'd never felt this kind of exhaustion before... not since his fight with Uzumaki Naruto...

Kita screeched and swiped at him with a massive paw. Gaara's sand formed a claw of its own and slapped it away before it hit. Kita backed up and hissed at him, ears flattened against her skull.

The red-haired boy stared at her lifeless eyes, void of colour. Inside, he felt conflicted between letting Kita live, or killing her... He could do it, of course he could. It wouldn't be too hard to just make his sand collect around her like he always did before finishing them. She'd struggle to get out... but she'd never be quick enough to escape as his hand clamped shut.

But then, he'd be killing the one person he felt like there was something more to. It made him wonder about what it was that he truly wanted.

_Hate..._ _sadness... and even happiness... to be able to share it with another person... and to be wanted by that person, not just as a weapon... but as a living human being... _

For once... it all made sense to him, what Naruto's struggle was about and what it _truly_ meant to be able to fight for a precious person. Not just for their sake, but for their _love. _

There was no way he could kill her like this...

Gaara looked up as a shadow appeared over him. The shield of sand that flared up crumbled like dust under the weight. Gaara's eyes widened in alarm as a pair of paws came down upon him.

"Gaara!" yelled Araiki, seeing the boy disappear under Kita's paws. "Houkou! _Now!_ We're doing this now!"

_Heh heh... you're in for quite a ride... _

Kita's ears flickered as she heard a howl. Her head turned to the side and squinted as a white light shone brightly into her eyes. As they came back to focus, her body went still for a moment.

Towering over her was a dog, its white chakra body flaring with power. Behind it waved five tails, each seething with chakra. At the base of the canine's form was a boy, his own body sporting the same five tails.

Kita crouched down defensively in its presence- hissing and spitting at the chakra manifestation as it shrank down into the boy.

The boy growled at her, baring lengthening fangs. His glowing green and blue eyes were rimmed with red as they became bloodshot. He held a hand up with his fingers curled. White flames burned at his fingertips that slowly began to drip blood.

"I won't let this go on any further!" yelled Araiki in a pain-stricken voice, and blood dribbled from the edges of his lips. "I'm going to get Kita back!"

Kita's eyes narrowed, no longer quite intimidated with the disappearance of the chakra-dog. Taking her paws off of her catch, she slowly slunk towards the boy.

Araiki gulped silently as the creature stared down at him, almost daring him to try something. He frowned, willing up courage within himself.

Kita gave a high-pitched yowl and leapt at him, teeth bared and mouth open.

Suddenly, she stopped... Sand wound its way around her body, clamping her mouth shut and binding her legs. Araiki's eyes widened as he saw behind her, a solitary hand stuck out of the ground. Shards of sand cracked and peeled off as the hand shook to keep steady.

_Kid, now's your chance. _

Araiki looked up one more time and leapt off the ground, hand blazing brightly. Kita struggled against the sand, screeching angrily at the imprisonment. The sand strained to keep her contained.

"_GOGYO FUUIN; ANSHOUKA NO GOBI SHIKI!_"

Araiki's hand connected with the creature's forehead. Her body froze as the seal turned white and lengthened out, finishing itself as lines of writing stretched around like chains. The black and white flames of chakra covering the two dispersed into the air above with a final roar. The sand fell away as both Araiki and Kita fell to the ground to land with a thud, both emptied of energy.

Gaara's hand descended back down.

The red haired boy closed his eyes. He'd never lose her like that again...

A loud crack resounded above the fallen trio as the sand dome began to splinter apart. As sunlight started to pour back in, two shadows leapt into the stadium, scooping the young ninja up before they were crushed.

"It's over..." sighed Benkeino, carrying both Gaara and Araiki over his shoulders.

Rosuto lowered his eyes and glanced at the girl in his arms. Kita hung limply in his arms like a rag-doll, her tail dragging under her.

_I have the feeling... that this is only the start of something worse..._ he thought silently.

* * *

**A few hours later... **

"Let me in! I need to see her!"

Yanagi sent doctors and nurses sprawling as she forced her way up the hallway towards Kita's room. She had to see her. She just had to! She noticed the door to Kita's room was solid steel.

"Yanagi!" yelled Sora and Hana after her as the black haired girl was suddenly lifted up into the air by a masked ANBU member. A female ANBU stood next to him with a furious look plastered on her face.

"You'd best keep away from here, girlie," sneered the man, clearly unhappy about his task, "This here is an S-classed criminal."

"_Criminal?_" retorted the girl furiously. "Kita's my best friend, _NOT_ a criminal! Now let me go you bastard!"

The man threw her back down the hall with an angry grunt. "This _monster_ killed a lot of people. If it weren't for your damn Tsuchikage, we'd have killed her already."

"What did you say?" asked Benkeino, suddenly appearing behind the man, eyes narrowed.

The pair of ANBU straightened up in shock, saying nothing.

"I thought so... Open the doors." The Tsuchikage stepped to the side to allow the trio inside before glancing again at the other man. "Threaten my genin again and you'll be finding your time here in the hospital won't be on company time." The door stayed open for several more seconds as more Grass ANBU were shuffled out into the hallway, each looking noticeably worried and angered.

Yanagi stood next to Kita's bed, trying to will herself from crying anymore. It was hard though; Kita looked a battered and bloody mess... not helped that the nurses had been unwilling to do their best to help her. Hana patted her friend on the shoulder before going to work on the bandages and straightening them up.

Sora gazed along with Yanagi, taking in Kita's appearance. With a little fear and curiosity in the back of his mind, he sent his bloodline out to probe Kita's mind. He flinched away suddenly like he had been met with a strong electric shock.

"What's wrong, Sora?" asked Hana worriedly whilst fastening one of the bandages tighter.

Benkeino looked up from the chart he was glancing through as Sora's expression changed to disbelief.

"It's Kita..." he muttered unsurely, "she's... I dunno... but, it's like she's not there anymore..."

"What do you mean?" Yanagi asked slowly.

The blue haired boy placed his hands in Yanagi's own while Hana stepped away from Kita with worry all over her face.

* * *

**Two weeks later...**

Kita's nose twitched. There was the undeniable smell of dog in the room, making her feel slightly nervous, though somehow comforted at the same time. She opened her eyes slowly and sat up before running a tongue over the side of her hand and washing her face with it. Her ears flickered upwards as she paused. There was something wrong about that just then, but she wasn't sure. She gave a slight shrug and stretched to get the kinks out of her spine before her hands flopped back down onto the sheets.

Kita looked around. The room was dark, and the curtains drawn. There was a sliver of light as moonlight poured in. Kita swung her feet over the edge of the bed to stand up. She faulted slightly as she wobbled her way over to the windowsill and opened the curtains, barely noticing she was in a bedroom of some kind and not a hospital. Her tail swung slowly in amusement as she stared up at the quarter moon with cat-like pupils.

"Kita-chan?"

The girl's ears pricked up as she turned, the dog scent filling her nose. A shaggy-haired boy was looking up at her from the bed, seeming to have just woken up with his arms crossed over on the edge. The boy smiled happily as he jerked from his dream-like state and vaulted around the bed to stand before her.

Kita cocked her head at him, making his smile dissolve into confusion.

"Are you okay, Kita-chan?"

She frowned for a moment in thought before speaking, "Yes... I'm okay..."

Araiki was sure he heard her mutter something that sounded like 'My name is Kita...' under her breath. He looked at her in a worrying matter until she glanced back with her own look of worry.

"There _is_ something wrong, isn't there?" The boy sighed, moving his eyes to the floor.

Kita gave him a questioning look before she smiled. "No, I'm fine... just a little disappointed I suppose. But, at least you'll be okay when it comes time for them picking chuunin."

Araiki's eyebrows suddenly knit in confusion. "Wait... don't you remember?"

"Remember what, nyan?" she asked.

Kita froze at the end of her sentence, fear entering her eyes before she stared up at Araiki.

"What have I done...?" She looked down at her hands, her fingers trembling. "This... this isn't me!"

"Kita-chan," Araiki started to say before he was cut off.

"I can't change back into a cat like I used to!" The girl squeezed her eyes shut tightly as she tried to search for something. "It's gone! And Nibi... I can only barely sense her, though she feels so close at the same time!" Her eyes snapped back open, panic all over her face. "What's wrong with me? Why I did I speak like her just then? I don't understand, I-I..."

Tears splattered onto the floor as Kita burst out crying.

Araiki was unsure of what to do. He'd never seen her like this before. In a way, it was frightening... even more so because he knew what was wrong.

* * *

**One week ago... **

Araiki groaned and held his head as he sat up.

"Araiki!" exclaimed a voice.

"Eh... Rindou?" The shaggy haired boy blinked as he was pulled into a hug by his team mate. Shuuki gave a sharp snore as he woke up, having been napping in the chair next to Rindou's.

Rindou smiled and moved slightly, letting him see the vast amount of flowers and cards on his windowsill. "Look, Araiki! People kept sending stuff to you all week! You're a hero!"

Araiki leaned over and picked a card off of his side table and read it. _'Thank you for saving us from that scary monster girl, Araiki-san!'_ The bottom of the card was signed clumsily in children's writing along with pictures of what he presumed was him fighting against a giant cat.

He paused uneasily. _That sand thing of Gaara's was up the entire time when Kita-chan was in that state... how did? _

"Something wrong, Araiki?" asked Shuuki, glancing at the card in the other boy's hands.

Araiki pointed to the picture, a stern frown of worry on his face. "Tell me, how did they know? How did they know about _that_?"

Rindou pulled the card out of his hands and placed a newspaper in them instead. "I've been saving these for you," she sad, poking a finger at a slightly grainy picture.

"But-but how?" Araiki gaped, looking down at the photo in the newspaper. It was a photo of him, with Kita's monstrous form before him looking furious. It made him shudder slightly.

"It's been all over the television," Rindou informed him, "Jouryoku had set up cameras inside the stadium before the matches. When everyone evacuated, they left the cameras on. We saw pretty much everything, though the sound was out..." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter now anyway. Araiki, you're a hero! I wouldn't be surprised that they hold a celebration for you after they find you've woken up."

"Though, they'd have to do something about _her_ first, though." Shuuki interjected with a grim look.

Araiki threw the covers of the hospital bed off, noticing he was only dressed in a pair of pyjama pants. He opened the cupboard near him to search for any signs of his clothes, though he doubted that they actually survived the ordeal before intact. He found a plain shirt and pair of new pants on the bottom shelf.

"Araiki! What on earth are you doing?" demanded Rindou, putting her hands on her hips.

The Gobi vessel turned. "I need to find Kita-chan. What are going to do to her?"

"You're not serious are you?" asked the girl, raising an eyebrow. "For one, they'd never let you near her; she's been contained inside the holding cells under the village."

"The Tsuchikage wasn't very happy about that," muttered Shuuki, "but there wasn't much he could do, seeing with what's happened back in Iwagakure." He shrugged when Araiki looked at him questioningly. "The whole place was under riot for days after footage of your fight was beamed out. Apparently the council has ordered her to be put to death."

The boy's eyes widened slowly. Without another thought he ran into the bathroom and changed before charging to the door.

He paused for a second as he looked back. "Can you tell me what happened to Gaara-san?"

Rindou sighed and pulled something off of the table- an envelope. Araiki rushed over and took it, tearing it open to read it. Two notes fell out of it, one bearing his name, and other baring Kita's. He opened up the one with his name and read it.

_Araiki, my brother Gaara has asked me to write this note for you for when you wake up. We've heard horrible rumours about riots and unrest in Kita's hometown. We're worried that something may happen to Kita. Unfortunately, we are unable to stay; the Suna council has requested our presence immediately. I'm sure that Gaara is displeased about it, probably even furious though you know how he doesn't show much emotion... However, we have decided to take our chances and rest our hopes on you at this time. _

_Please, do what you can for Kita. She's like our little sister, and I can't stand the thought that something may happen... and Gaara wouldn't be very happy either. I'm not sure which I'd rather face... _

_Thank you for your help before on mine, Kankuro, and Gaara's parts. We'll always consider you a friend. But please, take care of Kita, and give her that note when the time comes. _

_Regards, Temari. _

The empty envelope fluttered down onto the ground as Araiki took off down the hallway.

* * *

**Ten minutes later... **

"Please... you've gotta let me see her!" panted Araiki before the guard as he reached the entrance to the holding cells. The place led down into the earth, where the walls were coated in steel plates and fluorescent lights flickered often. It was cold and silent down there...

The jounin raised an eyebrow at him. "You're..."

"You've gotta let me see Kita-chan!" Araiki begged. "It's important!"

The man frowned. "She's an S-classed criminal. I can't just _let_ you see her."

"He'll be right," said another voice. An Iwa jounin stepped up from the staircase leading down. The man's frosty blue eyes looked down at Araiki before he glanced at the other man. "He managed to look after before, I'm sure that it'll be fine. I'll go along with him anyway."

"Fine," muttered the guard, moving aside, "though if anything happens, it'll be on your head. Your country's council is angry enough as it is, and ours as well because we've been forced to take her in."

The Iwa jounin motioned for Araiki to follow him down into the depths.

The boy obliged, following cautiously.

"I'm Hoshino Rosuto," said the man in front of him as they continued down, "I'm Kita's jounin instructor."

"Why are you here?" asked Araiki, blinking as his eyes were bombarded by badly flickering lights.

"Because of this whole ordeal, the rest of Kita's team mates and the Tsuchikage were forced to go back. We were going to take Kita with us, but she's still unconscious... and the council would have killed her as soon as she entered the country." Rosuto sighed. "I was the only one allowed to stay back, to act as the dignitary. And we had to place her down in here because of your own country's people."

"...How is she?"

Rosuto turned slightly to the boy. "She's... seen better days. It's complicated really."

"Can you try to explain it to me then?" Araiki requested. "I really want to know."

"You're just going to have to wait for a moment..." The jounin had a grim look on his face as they came to the final door in the corridor, guarded by both a collection of strong locks and a group of ANBU. They were reluctant to move at first until Rosuto sent them a stern look.

The locks clicked open and the door groaned as it opened. Araiki entered as quickly as he could.

"Kita..." he breathed, moving towards the bed at the end of the room. "What happened to you...?" Araiki asked quietly, hand brushing up against one of her cat ears. He could see the pair of sharp fangs behind her slightly parted lips, as well as the tail that hung limply from the bedside.

Rosuto closed the door, the grim look on his face turning to sadness as he saw the boy gaze on at the girl in the bed.

"There's something I should discuss with you," he said suddenly, grabbing Araiki's attention. "It's that, we may have discovered something about her... after she was placed in the hospital."

Araiki stared at him with worry. "What is it?"

"One of Kita's team mates has a psychic bloodline, and he used it on Kita's mind after she came in. He thinks that maybe..." Rosuto closed his eyes, a deep frown furrowing his brows, "that maybe that isn't exactly Kita anymore..."

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Well, that's the end of the chuunin exams I guess. About time! Arg.

**Jutsu used, ect. **

**Gogyo Fuuin; Anshouka no Gobi Shiki **_(Five Element Seal; Encryption of the Five Tails Style)_(Sealing jutsu) Based off of the sealing jutsu, _Gogyo Fuuin_, and modified by the bijuu Houkou to create a new seal with both traits of human and demon sealing methods. This jutsu was used to finish the seal on the Jinchuuriki, Kita's, forehead and sever most ties between them. Side effects of this jutsu are as yet unknown.

**Hope you enjoyed that, guys! **


	45. Parting Ways

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Well, here we are- the end of the Kusagakure and Chuunin Exam saga. I can't believe it's taken so long. I hope you guys have had fun reading it. I enjoyed writing for so many characters. Hopefully now though, I'll be able to introduce a few new ones; perhaps we'll even get to see some old ones.

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 45: Parting Ways _**

Araiki closed his eyes briefly. "I... I think I remember something that Houkou said... Before I did that seal on her, that is."

"What was that?" asked Rosuto, eyebrows twitching slightly. This was new information to him.

"Nibi was trying to gain Kita's bloodline," explained the boy quietly. "Houkou told me she was trying to 'absorb' her or something. Perhaps, when I did the seal on her, it was kinda like trying to peel a bad sticker off of a book... somehow you nearly always end up taking a bit of the book cover along with it."

"I see..." nodded Rosuto grimly. "So you think that when you tried to shut off the Nibi from Kita, she was still in the progress of this 'absorption'? And when you did... somehow you ripped some of Nibi's soul or personality off with it?"

"Yes, I think that's what happened." The shaggy haired boy sighed sadly and shook his head. "I'm sorry... that this happened... Kita's friends must be very upset with what I've done..."

Rosuto stepped over and clamped a reassuring hand on the young genin's shoulder. "No, you did what was best for Kita. It's not your fault you were trying to protect her. And you never know about what's going on in Kita's mind right now. For all we know, she could actually be fine."

Araiki shrugged the man's hand off. "No. I'm sure she's not... it couldn't be that simple."

Rosuto watched as the Houkou Jinchuuriki seemed to think the situation over in his head. In a way, he knew what was coming...

"I'm taking her." Araiki announced, turning to face the jounin. "I'm going to take her someplace safe until she wakes up."

"You know I can't let you do that," replied Rosuto with a slight frown.

"And you know she's not safe here!" retorted the boy, baring his teeth angrily. "What'll they do when they find out she's woken up? They'll have her killed, that's what! I'm not going to let that happen to her!"

Rosuto glanced at Kita before he spoke, "You've put me in an awkward situation you know. If I let you go without a fight, then I could find myself on the chopping block for treason. And if I don't aid you, then there's little chance you'd make it past the guards."

The door behind them groaned as it opened suddenly. Rosuto whirled around, hands ready to throw kunai.

"Don't worry about it, Rosuto." said the man at the door with a grin. "I'll help him." He tossed one of the guards onto the ground and stepped into the room, revealing the other guards behind him, knocked out.

Araiki looked the man up and down. There was a familiarity about him... he suddenly realised when he looked at Kita and back at the man. The resemblance... he must have been her father.

"Hissori..." Rosuto said with a confused, yet bleak look on his face. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be back at Iwa pleading Kita's case to the council."

The silver haired man strode over to Kita's side as soon as he spotted her. He didn't say a word as he did. He knelt down and placed a hand under his daughter's chin, stroking her cheek gently with a thumb. He stared at her for several moments, almost like he couldn't believe she was really in front of his eyes.

"You're the kid I saw on the television, aren't you?" he asked softly.

Araiki assumed the man was talking to him. "Yes, I am." He nodded.

Hissori's mouth twitched in a smile. "Thank you..." He looked up with determined purple eyes. "It's time I return the favour of what you did for Kita."

"Hissori, you're not...?" Rosuto interrupted, an angry tone in his voice. "They'll have you killed if you do this!"

"What good would I be doing my daughter if I just sat at home?" replied the silver haired man slowly. "I already had to sit at home last time, worrying every single day that my little girl might be dead... now I know for certain her fate. It's certain, even if I _did_ plead for her... the council won't listen to reason, not even from Benkeino-sama himself. I can't sit around just worrying this time, not when I can actually do something to help her."

Rosuto grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him away from Kita. "But what good would you be doing her if you end up dead?"

Hissori replied by grabbing onto Rosuto's wrist in return, clutching hard enough to make him let go. "It's worse if _she_ ends up dead, that's what. I made Minami a promise on the day before she knew she was going to die. I told her I'd take care of Kita. I'd make sure she grows up to be a proud and strong ninja of the Stone..."

Araiki thought about his words as he stared down at the sleeping girl before him. "She... could never be that now..."

"I know... I know..." whispered the man. He lowered his head as a drop of water fell from his eye. "But if I do this, she can at least have a chance at becoming something other than a corpse..."

"What am I supposed to do then?" asked Rosuto in defeat. He knew there was never a way of changing his old team mate's stubbornness. "I have to at least-"

"I've always been the stronger ninja, Rosuto. You don't have to do a thing." Hissori's purple eyes slid over to him.

Rosuto's eyes widened as he received a swift chop to the neck from Hissori.

"Bastard..." He choked out as he tumbled to the ground, unconscious.

Hissori stood over his fallen form. "Sorry, old friend... maybe one day when you have kids, you'll understand." He turned back to the bed and settled Kita onto his back. He glanced up at Araiki. "Tell me the place you intended to take her to."

"It's an abandoned house just on the edge of town, not too far from the wall. It's easy to spot- nobody has been there in years and it's pretty run-down. It should be due-east of here." Araiki frowned a little, unsure if this would work. "I should go with you." He offered.

The jounin shook his head. "I can't let you do that. It'd be too suspicious. I'll take her there, and then devise a distraction. They'll think I took her out of the village. Come by later in the night when things have settled down a bit and make sure she's okay..." He paused, smiling sadly. "I'm sorry to put this on you. You'll take care of her, won't you?"

"I promise," Araiki nodded determinedly.

"Thank you... tell Kita... that I loved her, and to grow up... strong and proud..."

Araiki felt darkness take him as something hit him on the back of his neck.

Hissori resettled Kita's form on his back. "This is all I can do for you, Minami, my beloved. The rest of Kita's life will be up to her."

The silver haired man disappeared from the holding cell in flash of dust and wind. It would be the last time Araiki and Rosuto would ever see him.

* * *

**Back in current time...**

Kita sat in the corner of the room, arms locked tightly around her legs as she rocked back and forth. Her eyes were puffy and red from the tears that continued to drip down her cheeks.

Araiki sat on the edge of a chair on the other side of the room, face buried in his hands.

_This is... this isn't fair..._

_It never is, kid... but she'd know about death more than any other. _

"What is this place?" asked a whisper. Kita slowly glanced up at the room. The faded green room had layers of dust built up around it, mostly covering the old shelves and cupboards that had once been shiny and brand-new.

Araiki looked around as well. With all the worry he had been through over the past week, he hadn't really tried to think very much about this place. "It's... my old home. I used to live here, until my father died."

His eyes travelled to stare out the window, where he caught sight of the old shed standing in the ghostly light of the moon.

"They tried to sell this place, but nobody would ever buy it. They said it was haunted. The little kids of this village tell each other stories that a boy was once kept in that shed... for up to days at a time with only scraps to eat. He would cry, but nobody would ever hear him in that dark and lonely place. It didn't matter how loud he cried. Nobody would ever come. But... eventually, the boy made a decision- to stop depending on others for strength. He'd become strong and prove it to everyone. And when the boy finally became free, he started his goal. He joined the ninja academy and trained every chance he did.

However, he realised that there were times when it _was_ okay to depend on others for strength. Because he realised it was friendship and the will to protect those he loved that would make him even stronger. And still he kept training... though, he always felt as though something was missing... that there was loneliness in him because he felt so different. One day, that changed though..."

"What happened?" asked Kita quietly.

Araiki smiled. "The boy met a girl who was a lot like him. She knew the same sort of pain he did and offered friendship to him. The girl eventually came to mean a lot to the boy, although they had only known each other for a short time. However, something happened that threatened to take the girl away from the boy forever. The boy knew that the girl had a precious someone of her own, but he didn't care, because she was still a precious person to him, that gave him strength. And it was that strength that helped him to help the girl. After that, the story has no ending yet... because it hasn't happened yet."

Kita's lips twitched into a smile of her own. "You expect me not to know who that's about, nyan?"

"You're smart, I knew you'd work it out."

"I'm not that smart..." she replied. "Or else Kita... I mean, _I_ would have seen Nibi's plan sooner. Damn it... Me... _I'm_ Kita..." She thumped a palm against her forehead until she caught Araiki's look of worry (or perhaps sadness?) at her. She found it hard to tell. "It's fine... I just need to adjust. I keep feeling like all that before wasn't me. There are all these things running around in my mind that I can't tell what's what. All these strange memories and feelings... it makes me feel so different from who I was before."

"What kind of stuff do you remember?" Araiki asked, hoping he wouldn't see her cry again.

"There's this one memory where I'm in this dark place," Kita closed her eyes as she talked. "It's all cold and not a glimmer of light anywhere. But then suddenly there's this person in a white mask before me with a scythe. He makes me feel so scared. But then the masked man pats me on the head and tells me I'm his pet... and I feel... I feel safe..." Kita seemed to smile to herself as she thought. Her expression disappeared as her eyes opened though. "That's the only nice memory I have that seems to belong to Nibi. Everything else is just... frightening to me. Just death... death and darkness everywhere..."

Araiki's hands tightened as he gripped the material of his pants. _Death and darkness everywhere..._

Kita glanced over at the boy, seeing his expression. "I'm sorry that I have to put you through all this, even though... you know..."

"It's fine," Araiki replied with a small smile, "I told your father I would. And when you're feeling better, then we'll work things out... ah, wait a second!"

Kita's ears swivelled around curiously. "What is it?" she asked.

The boy jumped up and started to search around in a bag near to him. He pulled out a piece of paper and hurried over to Kita with it. "I was given this, to give to you. It's from Gaara, or at least his sister, I think."

Kita shakily took the envelope from him and opened it. Her eyes sped past the words on the page as she read.

"He... Gaara wants me to go to Suna as soon as I can." She became eerily quiet as she lowered the paper into her lap.

"Suna?" Araiki repeated questioningly. "But that means you'll have to leave here..."

The paper crinkled in Kita's grip. _I don't understand... after this, I would have thought he'd never want to see me again..._

"So what do you want to do, Kita-chan?"

The cat-eared girl looked up. "I have to go. I don't think I have any other option. I can't stay in here forever... and I can't go back to Iwa... I'm pretty much a missing-nin now, aren't I?"

Araiki's eyes didn't meet hers as he talked, "Yes... Suna would probably be one of the last places you _could_ go."

"I know... that you don't want me to leave, Araiki," Kita whispered, resting her head on her knees and locking her arms around her legs again, "But you'll have to. I can't stay here, I just can't."

The boy sighed and turned to the window near them. He placed a hand on the cold glass, watching the calm lustre of the moon pouring over the top of the village wall. "I remember one of the first things you ever said to me when we met. It was 'I'm here to protect you'."

"I didn't exactly do a very good job of that, did I...?"

Araiki glanced back. "You didn't have to, because I said I didn't need it."

Kita rubbed her eyes against the material of her pants. "It seemed like it ended up swapped- you protected me..."

"I couldn't have done it without Gaara-san. He was the one who fought for you." Araiki remarked with a shake of his head. He straightened up uncomfortably suddenly. "Tomorrow, we'll start to figure out how to get you out of here without getting caught." He began to walk away from her and towards the door.

"Araiki... one day when things settle down, I'll come back and visit, nyan? But first, I'll need to become a strong person... just like you are." Kita gave a cat-like smile at him as he turned back for a second.

The boy's lips spread into a smile of their own. "Sure..."

He closed the door after him. Kita stood up slowly and went back to staring at the moon with her tail twitching.

"I have a long way to go..."

* * *

**A week later...**

"Hurry up, Araiki, get a move on; I don't think I can hold this _henge_ forever!"

"I'm going as fast as I can, Kita-chan."

Araiki clutched the black and purple cat under his arm tightly as he made his way through Kusagakure. Kita had a sour look on her face (or at least the best look of displeasure a cat could pull) from being squashed against Araiki's side.

_She's gotten a little brash over the week..._ Araiki thought wearily.

_Heh heh... you expected her to stay the same with the after-effects of what happened?_ asked Houkou in an amused tone._ That mouth is definitely Nibi's. I just feel sorry for the Shukaku-kid when he gets her- he's going to be in for quite a treat if she gets irritated. Heh heh... _

The shaggy haired boy shook his head slightly at his inner demon's comments. Though Houkou was right; Kita would be Gaara's burden after this... though he didn't want to think of her as a burden of sorts.

Araiki glanced around the corner of the alleyway. He was taking the backstreets of Kusagakure in an effort to lower his chances of being seen. Going by rooftop on foot was out of the question- that was for sure. Taking the normal roads would have been a bit of a hassle as well- Araiki was forever being stopped by random people and being thanked. Apparently his fifteen seconds of fame was lasting abnormally long, much to the chagrin of some more of those who were convinced that Araiki never be accepted.

Kita blinked and watched as flashes of the main street went past. Things had seemed to have finally calmed down after the disaster, although there were still signs of it. She saw barrels of rubble and sand being carted away from the direction of the stadium.

A pang of guilt filled her. _So many deaths... perhaps there is an irony that at the end of my own life I'll be directing souls for Shinigami-sama... I wonder if that's what you're doing right now, Dad? _

Araiki skidded to a stop near the towering village gates. "Kita-chan, we're here," he whispered.

Kita hopped down onto the ground and glanced up at him with purple eyes. "It seems that things finally looking the better for you, nyan?" she commented.

Araiki smiled. "Yeah... seems so. I hope that things will turn out better for you too..."

"My life is whatever I make it, I suppose," Kita's tail waved lazily. "I know what the end is going to be, so I may as well try to make the middle as best I can with what I got."

"I'll miss you." The boy leant down and petted Kita on the head. She purred briefly until she batted his hand away with a paw.

"Don't be stupid. You have lots of other people to fill the void now." She got to her feet and turned. "Well, see ya... Araiki. Stay strong."

And with those words, she was gone. Araiki caught one last glance of a tail as Kita vanished into the sea of grass that surrounded the village. He walked into the middle of the entranceway and stared out across to the sky.

_I guess... we should start a new chapter of our lives now... _

"Heeey! Araiki!"

Araiki blinked and looked around in surprise. Rindou was waving at him, running from down the street. Behind her, she was dragging along another girl.

"Rindou-nee-chan! You're going too fast!" whined the girl, who seemed to be younger than his team mate. "You know I'm not a ninja! I can't keep up with your speed!"

The kunoichi slowed down a little until they reached Araiki. The girl was completely frazzled and was doubled over as she panted hard to catch her breath. Her frilly white skirt and teal blouse were covered in dust and dirt.

"Araiki, there you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" exclaimed Rinou merrily. "I wanted you to meet my cousin! She's moving here in a little while."

"Nice to meet you...?" asked Araiki questioningly, looking down at the girl, whose face was totally hidden by a curtain of long caramel-brown hair. There was a blue bow perched atop her head.

"...It's... Kinomi..." panted the girl. She finally got her breath back and straightened up. There was a flush under her dark blue eyes still though as she suddenly gave a small smile at Araiki.

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **I don't have much to say...

**Names: **

**Minami:** Means 'South', and in case you haven't worked it out, she was Kita's mother.

**Kinomi:** Means 'Berry'.

**Until next time, guys! **


	46. Understand

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Gyah, I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, but the past few weeks have been busy beyond belief what with travelling and uni. Anyway, I hope you guys are still reading this...

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 46: Understand _**

**A few days later...**

_Arg... this is frustrating... Stupid tail! Why won't you disappear?_

Sand was flung into the night air as Kita pounced around to grab the offending appendage. She glared at it angrily- a look that could shatter glass really.

"If I can't get rid of the ears, then at least I should be able to get rid of you!" she growled at it, poking it. She sighed, "You'd think I'd have _at least some_ traces left of my Nekomusume henge left... and you'd think I'dhave more knowledge now, but I always get the short straw in these things."

In the back of her mind, Kita felt an angry buzz.

"Shut up, Nibi," she muttered, figuring that there were still a few lingering threads between her and the demon, "it's because of you I have to practically re-learn everything whilst figuring new things out for myself- including my own bloodline."

Kita turned back to the fire before her and yawned, accompanied by a long stretch. Tonight she was fortunate, having found a small oasis, albeit with only a puddle for water and scrawny twigs for trees. It was enough though as the previous nights she just had to collapse on top of a sand dune and hope she didn't get caught up in a sandstorm whilst she slept. That and she had been starving... visiting any towns were out of the question (even during her quick journey through the Rain Country). She wouldn't be able to hold a henge long enough to find any food, even if it was table scraps.

Her hunger had been solved when she arrived at the oasis (if it really could be called that), being able to pounce on a few desert mice. She hadn't even bothered to cook them properly... though Kita didn't really seem to notice- somehow she felt almost like she had gotten more from the whole situation with Nibi than just the ears and the damn tail that refused to hide itself away.

_Fine, let's try this one more time..._ Kita thought, putting her hands together in an effort to concentrate. She breathed quietly as she focussed her thoughts before opening her eyes and turning around slightly.

"About time too," Kita grumbled as she saw her tail seem to melt away into the night air. She fell back onto the sand, satisfied and worn out from the day's trekking. The moon glistened with a dull pearly sheen overhead.

Kita blinked lazily. _How did I ever manage to live all those months with just myself... and Nibi...? It seems like such a dream, surviving out in the wild with only my instincts and claws to rely on. But I'm still like that, aren't I? _

There was only silence in her mind.

"Stupid demon... I've gotten so used to talking to you, that without you, I'm at the first sign of madness," Kita murmured before curling up and drifting asleep.

* * *

It had been at the first signs of dawn that Kita had set off, and it had been at least two days since leaving that scrap of an oasis. Kita braced her hands on her knees and panted. She glanced up at the sky, silently cursing the sun that blared down upon her and made her skin feel like it was on fire. The cat-eared girl wiped her brow with a hand, wishing that she had a canteen of water or something to dunk her head in to cool herself off. Her eyes wandered wearily along the desert sands, looking desperately for a sign of _something_ other than sand.

"I can't take much more of this..." she muttered weakly, coming to a halt and flopping down into the small peak of shade provided by a sand dune. "It's just too darn hot out here, and I have no supplies whatsoever..."

Kita spread-eagled herself on the slope of sand, staring up at endless blue of the sky, her sight marred by heat waves.

_I just need something to keep my mind off of it... _she thought and blinked at the sight of the sun.

"AH! That's it!" Kita sat up swiftly, forming hand seals. "_Hiton; __Boshi Enkou Enchou!_"

Kita wiped her brow again as she willed herself to her feet, surrounded by a group of whirling golden halos. They rolled around her legs as she walked onwards, following like ducklings.

_Let's see how long I can keep this up- shouldn't be more than a few minutes compared to the other Hiton I know because of the level of concentration... but when they disappear, I'll rest, and then try to improve on the time! _

Kita gave a feline-like grin to herself and trudged on.

* * *

**Suna... three days later...**

"Patrol duty seems like it's the only thing we do these days Akio..."

"Yeah, I hear you there, Sajin. But it's not like Suna has been popular in the past year or so."

Sajin gave a yawn and cracked his neck as he and his team mate trudged through the desert under the heated sun. Aiko splashed some water from his canteen onto his head.

"Hey, you see that?" Sajin squinted into the distance where a dark shape laid on the sand.

The other man grabbed a pair of binoculars from his bag and looked into them. He lowered them with a strange look on his face. "Looks like our day just got more interesting."

"How's that? Oi, wait up!" Sajin started to run as his team mate took off.

His brow twitched as they came upon a girl laying face-first down into the sand.

"Let's get her back to the village. The Kazekage will want to see her." Aiko slung the unconscious girl over his shoulder.

"Think we'll get a bonus in our pay check this week?"

"Hope so..."

* * *

**Later...**

Kita stared up at the ceiling of her hospital room before glancing out the window. The setting sun made Suna light up with a golden glow as the sandstone buildings soaked up the rays.

_I don't understand..._ she thought._ Why are the people here being so nice? If this were a hospital anywhere else, wouldn't they have kicked me out or something by now? Maybe it's because of Gaara? _

Kita sat in quiet reflection for a few minutes before her ears twitched. The door slid open, and a nurse poked her head in.

"She's awake, Kazekage-sama."

_Kazekage?_ Kita thought. Panic made her heart race... until a familiar red head walked in, making her mouth gape open.

It wasn't until the door slid back shut with a click that she was able to finally find some words.

"Onii-chan?"

Gaara's jade eyes twitched under his brow. He tried to put it out of his mind as he sat down, though his face betrayed him.

Kita noticed, her expression became one of hesitance. "Onii-chan...?" she asked again, only to be met with quiet.

The two sat in silence for what seemed like eternity.

"Don't... call me that..." muttered the older boy finally as he stared at the floor with a slight scowl. "Don't call me brother..."

Kita's ears drooped. "I don't understand..." she replied slowly. "You asked for me to come here, but then... is it because of what happened?"

The red head said nothing as he continued to stare at the floor.

Kita's hands clutched at the sheets under her as a look of anguish spread over her face. "I thought that we were like family- brother and sister... because we were so alike. But after what happened, I wondered briefly if you were like all the others because you had left so suddenly- like you never wanted to see me again. So when Araiki gave me that letter... I felt so happy because it seemed my thoughts were wrong... But..."

Kita leant down and softly gripped Gaara's hand. He was still silent.

"...Onii-chan?"

Suddenly, the silver-haired girl found herself pinned against the wall by a jet of sand. She winced painfully as the sand pressed her against the wall. The furniture had been completely overturned in the outburst.

Gaara buried his head in his hands, his fingers caught in his masses of red hair. He glanced up at the girl restrained against the wall above him, completely at his mercy. It seemed familiar to him...

_But... Maybe you _do_ want to hurt her... to punish her for not giving you what you want. I'm sure you know what I mean..._

Gaara could almost see Nibi's smile plastered on Kita's face as the sand continued to squeeze.

"Gaara... please..." Kita begged in a pained gasp. Tears welled up in her eyes until they overflowed, dripping gently onto the sand around her.

She stared down despairingly at the boy below her. So perhaps she was right...? There wasn't anybody left who she could call family now...

"Go ahead..." she whispered as she lowered her head. "If you want... you can kill me."

Underneath the concealment of his hands, Gaara's eyes widened. Slowly he let his arms drop beside his sides so he could stare up at the girl, seeming to have given up. She hung her head ashamedly, her hair obscuring all but the tears that dripped from her face.

"I... can't..."

Kita's head flicked up after his reply sunk in. Rage took over her face. "Why not?! It's obvious you don't want me around anymore! There's no point for me to stay living if wherever I go I'm not wanted! I don't have any family anymore!"

"I don't want you as a sister," Gaara replied in a quiet voice. "I... want..."

Kita froze as she gazed down at him.

Gaara frowned, searching for words. "I don't want you to-"

"Gaara! What are you doing?! Stop!" yelled a voice.

Temari sprinted over to the cocoon of sand on the wall. Her fingers scrabbled at it as she attempted to claw Kita out. She turned around, the darkest glare on her face that Gaara could ever remember.

"Let her go, now, Gaara," she demanded sternly.

The sand instantly dissolved away from the form, letting Kita's frame drop into the blonde's arms. Temari gave one last look at her brother before hauling the younger girl away.

The Kazekage slammed his fist into the wall.

_But, is there someone you can see it ever 'working out' with? _

_No, not really... I don't think anybody could ever love someone like me... Where ever I go, there's just hatred... _

* * *

Temari's expression was one of anger and shock as she helped Kita into a new room and sat her down.

"What the hell happened there?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips and frowning.

Kita looked away from the older girl. "I... I don't think Gaara regards me as family anymore. He said he didn't want me as a sister."

"...He didn't really say that, did he?"

Temari walked over to the window and looked out over the city, the sun placing the city slowly into twilight. _This is confusing... Gaara acts so strangely when it comes to Kita. I remember him getting moody over when he said she called him 'Onii-chan'. Of course, Gaara has never been a "people" person, so perhaps this relationship he has with Kita makes him uncomfortable? _

_But, then maybe I'm thinking about this all the wrong way? Looking at those in a different context, it's almost like..._

Temari's eyebrows twitched as she glanced over the cat-eared girl. Kita seemed to be slowly falling asleep in her chair, exhausted by the day's events. Her eyes continued to leak tears.

She gave the girl a quick pat on the head as she opened the door.

"I'll be back in a little while, get some rest."

* * *

Temari paused at the door to the room. How was she supposed to deal with this exactly? After all... she'd never really had a proper "heart to heart" kind of talk with-

She jumped slightly as the door opened. Gaara looked up at her.

"Gaara... can we... talk?"

* * *

Temari's hands gripped at the bed cover under her. Somehow when she had entered the room again, everything had been put back in its original place. Gaara must have felt some guilt over it and Kita perhaps? Gaara sat beside her on the bed side, staring down at the floor as shadows lengthened in the twilight.

"What do you want?" he asked quietly.

She glanced at him. "Don't you think Kita's been through enough without you making her think you hate her on top of all that's happened?"

"I don't hate her."

His sister sighed. "I know that you don't. But the way you act towards her..."

Gaara eased himself off of the bedside and took his gourd off to place on the ground. "I don't understand what it is she is to me."

"Do you think it's love? You've... never really known it before."

The new Kazekage stared out over the city, now flickering with lights as darkness swept over the desert. "I don't know if it can be called love," he said slowly. "At first I wondered if that was what it could be called, but I just don't want her to become like me."

Temari stood up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You could call her a precious person."

Gaara turned to his sister with a look of relief and a hint of a smile on his face. "That sounds like it. Like what Uzumaki Naruto said. And he said he would protect his precious people."

A smile spread on Temari's lips as well. _He doesn't understand what he wants... but it's still a long time before he begins to... Perhaps now we can heal from our past and start anew? I'll have to remember to thank that Naruto kid next time I see him... and Kita... _

"What are you going to do now then?" she asked.

Gaara turned and heaved his gourd back into its usual place. His arms hung limply by his sides after settling it on. "I'm going to be the Kazekage of Suna... and protect my precious people. Not just Kita, but everyone. If I can learn to do that, maybe I can understand what love is..."

* * *

**The next morning...**

Kita felt a little embarrassed as she sat opposite Kankuro. He had come in unannounced that morning to tell her he was taking her for a "proper breakfast" of some kind. Though, what made her feel the strangest was that the older boy was without his usual hat and face paint- she'd barely recognised him when she first awoke.

She fidgeted slightly in her chair, feeling a bit out of place at such a nice café and wearing just a plain t-shirt and old jeans that used to belong to Temari. Her previous clothes had once again been rendered unwearable after her journey.

_It's some kind of curse that I can never find a set of clothes that don't get destroyed on me, isn't it?_ Kita thought to herself.

Kankuro took a large gulp of orange juice before sticking a fork into a piece of bacon.

Kita poked at her food. It had been ages since she'd had a meal as good as this, but she was bothered by something.

"Kankuro... why'd you take me here?"

Kankuro thumped his chest as the bacon went down wrong for a brief second. He took another gulp of orange juice and glanced at her. "Why not? It's my day off- been ages since I've had one. Damn council have always got me running around doing errands."

"But, I thought you didn't like me..." Kita whispered. "Like Gaara..."

He gave her a crooked frown. "This has to do with what happened last night, doesn't it?" He didn't wait for her to respond. "No, we like you just fine, Kita. You've just got your... _quirks_... You're just like Gaara was when he was younger in a way- minus the death threats though."

"I am?" Kita blinked.

"Well, a little... you've both had it tough in some ways." Kankuro inspected the eggs on his plate. "Look, Gaara doesn't hate you. I'm not _quite_ sure what he feels about you, but I'm sure it's not hatred. If he really did hate you, you'd be dead by now. And I know that for a fact."

He paused before his eyes moved over to Kita's barely-touched plate.

"You gonna eat that bacon?"

"I'm sure as hell not letting you touch it. I'm still a growing girl, you know, nyan?" She grinned and waved a fork at him.

* * *

**Elsewhere, at the Kazekage's office... **

Gaara stared unamused at the paperwork on his new desk. He had accepted the position as Kazekage, thinking it would be a step in the right direction towards proving to the village he was no longer the monster they thought he was.

He didn't think it would involve so much paperwork though... he tapped his pen on the desk irritably.

"You're going to have to get used to that pretty quickly, Gaara-sama."

"I know that, Baki." The Kazekage's brow furrowed as he glanced up. "Isn't there someone else who could do this?"

Gaara's sensei peered down at the paperwork after he bowed. "They all require your signature, I'm afraid. Being a Kazekage requires hard work both on and off the field. And with you in charge of the village, we may get better funding for once and not have to resort to increasing the individual skills of each ninja." He paused, remembering that reason being the one behind Gaara's creation... He gulped.

Pen scratched across paper as Gaara signed his first piece of paperwork. He ignored his sensei's words. "Is there anything else you wanted, Baki?"

"Yes, actually... The council has called for a meeting, and they request that you attend at once." His eyes narrowed slightly. "It's about that Nibi girl."

Gaara placed the pen down on the desk as he stood up and walked past his former sensei. "Go inform Temari and Kankuro... please."

Baki nodded and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Gaara strode down the hallway, his sight set on the door at the far end, signalling the council chambers. Seeing the look on his face, others in the hallway moved out his way, hoping he wouldn't turn his mood on them. The door creaked as he opened it swiftly and went to take his place at the circular table.

"Gaara-sama, we have a rather pressing matter to attend to." One of the older members of the council stood up. "It concerns-"

"Baki told me." Gaara cut him off abruptly. "I want to know why a meeting is needed."

A man with a black goatee leaned in slightly. "Kazekage-sama, please, no disrespect, but the residents of the village are becoming concerned by her presence."

"Yuura is right," agreed the man next to him, "after all, she has been exiled from Iwa; a bounty placed on her head by Kusa; and not to mention she is considered a high-risk missing-nin by all other nations, including our allies in Konoha. What if what happened at Kusagakure were to happen here? We are putting peoples' lives in danger."

"Kita is no longer a danger; the Nibi has been sealed off." Gaara frowned. So even Konoha had a grudge...?

"I think what the council means is that we feel a concern over there being two Jinchuuriki in the same village," announced Baki as he walked in. He nodded at Gaara.

"Yes, that is exactly what we feel," replied one of the elders. "With this so-called 'Akatsuki' we've been hearing about, we cannot help _but_ worry about the safety of the village. If this organisation catches word of Suna containing two Jinchuuriki, especially if one is now considered "no longer a danger", and has a bounty on their head, then they will be sure to come sooner than later. Kazekage-sama, please take this into consideration."

Gaara closed his eyes. It was a losing battle, wasn't it? And there was truth to those words before. As well, Kita no longer had the Nibi to depend upon, and her skills as a ninja had seemed to have suffered, as well as her confidence probably. The fact that Kita had been labelled as a missing-nin with a bounty made him the most concerned. It would be hard to keep her protected inside a village like Sunagakure.

There was only one possibility he could think of.

"We'll ask Konoha to take her in."

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **I don't think I'll explain the names that you may not recognise. Yuura and Saijin are actually characters from the manga. Aiko is just some random name.

**Next chapter hopefully coming soon! **


	47. Strong and Proud

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Here we go! New chapter! And if anyone would like to read that little one-shot I put on Sakura, feel free to. Oh! And I put up a new Naruto comedy story called_ 'The Horrors of AIM'_, but it's on my deviantart. I couldn't put it on here because it was script format (AIM "format" really, but that can't be helped). I've had some real good feedback about it, so go read if you want!

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 47: Strong and Proud _**

Kita frowned as she trudged through town, feeling a few pairs of eyes watch her as she did. She ignored it, wondering what the important matter was that Baki had mumbled about when he came to fetch Kankuro.

_They ran off pretty quickly, so it definitely must have been of some importance..._ she thought, looking up at the sky briefly. As she looked back around the street she was walking on, she spotted a sweet shop.

Kita's mouth watered slightly at the thought as she walked towards it, searching for some spare change she had gotten off of Kankuro.

The older man at the counter eyed her suspiciously for a moment when she entered, making Kita feel a little apprehensive. She continued to browse regardlessly until she decided on a pack of jelly beans.

_It's been so long since I've had something like this..._ she smiled to herself, as she paid and left. She torn open an edge and popped one into her mouth.

Suddenly, she stopped and looked down at the bag in her hands.

_Why can't I taste anything? _

* * *

**In the Kazekage's office...**

"Who's going to tell her? One of you will have to."

Baki crossed his arms. Gaara was silently staring out the window of the office whilst Temari and Kankuro looked around uncomfortably.

Temari glanced up at the man. "Baki-sensei... it's... probably a bad time to just drop something like this on her. She's been through a lot lately."

Kankuro nodded his agreement before glancing over at his younger brother.

Gaara was still staring out the window.

"I can't believe this," muttered Baki. "You're supposed to be ninja! Temari, Kankuro, you're both chuunin now! Surely you can deal with telling one little girl!"

Temari frowned. "She's not going to handle it well, Baki-sensei. We haven't even told her about us becoming chuunin yet. She'd be devastated if she knew... it's hard enough on her since she's no longer recognised as an official ninja of any village."

"Fine then, if you kids won't tell her, I'll have to." Baki uncrossed his arms and headed towards the door.

"I'll tell her." Gaara pushed his chair back and solemnly strolled past his sensei.

* * *

Sand rose in a pillar as it supported its commander to the top of the family home. Gaara was sure she'd be up here- Kita always seemed to like being on top of high places.

As he finally came to the top, he stepped off onto the flat roof surrounded by a ledge. He spotted Kita sitting on the opposite side, her feet dangling over the edge of the building as she sat. Her hands were gripped tightly around her tail as she stared out over the city. Gaara looked at the appendage curiously.

Kita's ears perked up and she turned around quickly. She wobbled unsteadily, almost losing her balance. The cork popped out of Gaara's gourd as she did. Kita steadied herself and flinched as she saw the cork drop, remembering back to the night before. Her tail flopped onto the ground before she grabbed at it again.

"I didn't know you had a tail," Gaara commented, walking towards Kita.

The girl didn't respond- instead choosing to turn back around with a saddened expression. The tail in her hands faded away suddenly.

Gaara stopped beside her and looked down. Kita had a packet of jelly beans and a book in her lap. It was opened on a page that had a picture of a cat's mouth in the corner.

Kita glanced up at him. "I... I couldn't taste the jelly beans." She held the book up to him and pointed at a sentence that read 'Cats cannot taste sugary foods due to a faulty sweet receptor gene'.

Gaara accepted the book and flipped through some of the pages for a moment.

"I thought that things would be different from before when I really was one... but it's like nothing has changed. I had been so happy when I was able to become entirely human, but because of Nibi, it's never..." Kita paused, looking down at her hands. "I'm never going to be able to."

Gaara closed the book. "The council and I have decided to move you to the Fire Country."

Kita seemed to freeze. "What...?" She looked up at him with feline eyes. "Fire... Country?"

"We cannot look after you here yet. Temari and Kankuro have new duties to do as chuunin, and you're still not strong enough to defend yourself."

"Why are you telling me this now?" The packet in Kita's lap tottered and fell towards the ground as the girl stood up. Her knuckles went white as she squeezed her fists tight.

"You needed to know. We'll be leaving in two days." Gaara glanced across as a fist hit against a pocket of sand- Kita had tried to punch him. Blood dribbled slightly from where her knuckles had scraped against the sand.

"Am I just a burden?" she yelled at him. Sand flashed up uncertainly in spots as she did. Claws lengthened out from her nails, biting into her skin. "Isn't it bad enough that I'm going through all this already and then you put this on top of all that? I don't even know who I am anymore, let _alone_ have a proper home I can go to! I can't even be a ninja anymore like I wanted because nobody accepts me! And now you're sending me to a country that I have no idea about except that I'm hated by the people there too?!"

She stared angrily down at the ground, fists still balled. Gaara hadn't even flinched when she yelled at him.

"I just wanted you to be safe."

She didn't look up as Gaara left. Minutes later, she was still standing, feeling something like perverted joy in the back of her mind.

_Shut up! Shut up! _Kita screamed in her mind, certain that it was Nibi. The feeling remained as she sat back down furiously and buried her head into her hands. She sobbed quietly for a minute.

_Maybe it's not him that hates me, but me that hates him._ She began to think._ He's gained all so much, while I'm left with nothing. Temari and Kankuro made chuunin too, he said. What am I? I'm just some stray cat from off the streets now. _

Kita glanced back up over the city, the sun beating down upon it without a cloud in the sky. Everything just seemed... so... insignificant suddenly as she shielded her eyes from the sun's glare.

_But... maybe he's right... maybe I'm right too- I'm nothing but a burden. I haven't been trying to fix that, have I? I shouldn't have to rely on Gaara and Temari and Kankuro to look after me. Or even Araiki... All of them... they've never once complained about me- not once! I'm supposed to be a ninja. I got that hitae-ate because I could look after myself!_

* * *

Gaara turned as his office doors burst open again after just having been closed. Something vaulted across the floor and latched onto his arm tightly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I don't mean to be a burden."

The Kazekage stared down at Kita with wide eyes. The girl had buried her face into his sleeve as she clutched at his arm. Gaara looked away, not sure how to deal with the situation, especially since people were staring wide-eyed themselves from the hallway.

After a moment, he pried her off and went to re-close the doors.

Kita wiped at her eyes. "I know you mean well, but... I've been such an idiot..."

Gaara sat down at his desk and glanced at her. Females always seemed to change their tone so quickly; it was hard to keep up sometimes.

"What do you want?" he asked, putting his elbows on the table.

Kita wandered over to the seat opposite and sat as well. Her hands gripped onto the edge of the seat as she tried to recompose herself and try to sound more professional. "I... want to go to Konohagakure... if you think it's for the best."

Gaara nodded. "Anything else?"

"I want to know about what happened after the exams, like how Temari and Kankuro were promoted though I wrecked the exams."

Gaara responded by pulling out a file from a drawer in his desk. Kita opened it, seeing profiles in there for all those she remembered being in the finals- Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Araiki, and that dark-haired boy from Konoha.

The only one missing was her.

"It was decided after what happened that all those who were in the finals would become chuunin, due to lack of promotions over the past years," explained Gaara.

"Except me... obviously." Kita gave a half-hearted and crooked smile as she realised that would have meant Araiki got promoted as well. She gave Gaara a wondering look. "What _was_ decided about me? Please tell me?"

Gaara pulled out another file and placed it before her. Kita opened it nervously. Her hand snatched back like it had been caught by an electric shock when she saw in large red letters the words 'Missing-Nin', followed by a number of photos bound together with a paperclip. Kita picked them up and thumbed through them. The photos shook slightly as she looked over them. She stopped at one particular photo- not so much a photo as it looked like a fuzzy screencap from a television. In it was pictured a monstrous cat surrounded by black flames. Two figures stood before it. Kita knew it was Gaara and Araiki as they fought her in the stadium.

"Kusa has placed a bounty on your head as well; at least five million," Gaara added, "and several other countries would be on the lookout for you after having seen the broadcast."

"Broadcast?" Kita glanced up at him.

"Jouryoku had secretly set up a live broadcast of the final exams without the approval of the participating countries. He has had his position as leader for Kusagakure taken from him now." The Kazekage took the folders back, placing Kita's photos in their original place.

Kita placed her forehead on top of the cool polished wood of the desk. "Why can't I ever get a break..." she moaned quietly to herself before speaking louder for Gaara. "Why are you sending me to Konohagakure then? Have they even said it is okay?"

"Not yet," he replied.

Kita stared at him. "But... what if they don't...?"

Gaara seemed to shrug. "They will. You will be better off there for a while."

Kita gave him a determined look. "I'll make a promise to you. While I'm at Konoha, I'll train as hard as I can. Then one day I can come back and then you won't have to worry anymore because I won't be a burden. I'll be as strong as you are, and maybe then I can even become a shinobi for Suna- I promise that to you."

She was sure she saw a smile tug at his lips as she told him. Kita smiled back at him.

"Anything else?" he asked.

Kita fidgeted in her seat. She felt a little guilty, only giving him a promise as repayment for what she had put him through.

"Gaara... uh... can you... stand up for a moment, nyan?"

Gaara noticed a light blush spread over Kita's cheeks. He raised a brow at her enquiringly before complying. Kita stood up and walked around to his side of the table and stuck out her hand. Slowly, Gaara held his out too, expecting a handshake of some kind. Instead, she just held it and smiled gently.

"What... is this supposed to mean?" he asked, glancing down as she continued to hold his hand with her own smaller one.

"I don't know," she responded quietly before looking up at him. "But, thank you, Gaara." Her voice was sincere.

* * *

"What's happening?" asked Kankuro as his sister peeped through the keyhole.

"Shh!" Temari flapped a hand at him to keep it down. She squinted. "They're just... holding hands..."

Kankuro scratched the back of his head. "Seriously?" He glared as some of the staff paused, making them move on with strange expressions on their faces.

"I think we should try and do something nice for Kita before we go to Konoha- how about it?" Temari eased herself up and put her hands on her hips, a playful smile on her face.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at her. "You know how much I hate parties, Sis."

"Just because Gaara ruined your eighth birthday party by attacking the clown shouldn't mar your judgement, Kankuro. It'll be fun, I promise. Just us, Kita, and we'll invite Baki-sensei too." She put her hands together beseechingly. "Please Kankuro?"

He groaned. "Fine then... when will we set it up then?"

"Right now, come on!"

* * *

**That night...**

_Two days until I leave then..._ thought Kita as walked back towards home, _and Temari made me walk all the way to the grocery to get some bread and milk too... though she seemed to conveniently forgot to tell me the grocer's closed a little before sunset..._

She sighed as she walked up to the front door and opened it.

"Surprise!"

Kita's ears puffed up in surprise as Temari threw streamers over her head. She blinked, trying to take in everything- the living room was completely covered head-to-toe in brightly coloured streamers and balloons. What was even stranger though was the sight of Kankuro, Gaara and Baki wearing party hats- not that their expressions were very festive. Kita grinned at them as her body shook with laughter.

"You guys look terrible." She wiped at her eyes. "What's all this about anyway, nyan?"

Temari grabbed her into a headlock and popped a party hat onto her head. "Don't you know a party when you see one?" she asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

Kita pulled herself out of the headlock. "Well of course I do, but..."

"It's a going-away party just for you, Kita," explained Kankuro. "Temari wouldn't let you leave without one."

"Come on! Sit down already!" Temari ushered her further into the living room and onto the couch.

Kita blinked at the parcels on the table before her as Temari picked one up.

"This one's from Kankuro," she announced.

The puppet-user scratched the back of his head. "Geez, Sis, you're really into this, aren't you?" He glanced at Kita. "Go on, open it."

Baki and Gaara sat down nearby and looked on curiously as she took the top off the box. Kita's ears perked up as the object inside suddenly leapt out of the box onto her arm. Kankuro wiggled his fingers and the wooden doll swayed side to side before he let it flop over. Kita caught it and lifted it up to inspect it.

"This... is me!" she exclaimed. The doll looked just like her, complete with a cat-like grin. Kita grinned herself at Kankuro. "I didn't know you were into dolls, Kankuro!"

"Hey, are you going to enjoy that gift or not? It took me hours to make!" Kankuro planted his fists on his hips and glared at her.

The girl hugged it close to her chest. "I'll look after it, I promise. Thank you..."

Kankuro responded with a smug smile.

"You're still a kid, Kita, that's for sure." Baki clamped a large hand on top of the girl's head, making her pout. He grabbed up a parcel with his other hand. "But you're also a ninja, so I thought you would find this handy."

Kita squinted as she held up a small ball connected on a string- there were several others inside the parcel as well, along with a new pouch. "What are these exactly, Baki-sensei?"

"Light bombs," he commented, picking one up himself and showing her the writing on the casing that read 'light', "they cause a explosion of light that you should be able to use with your bloodline."

Kita examined it. "I've never seen these before. They'd really help out in a tight spot though. Thanks, Baki-sensei."

The older man nodded at her as Temari picked up the last box on the table.

"This one is from Gaara," she said with a secretive smile. "I can't give you mine until tomorrow."

Kita accepted the box with an inquisitive look and took the lid off. Gaara felt his fists tighten slightly as she did.

"This is..." Kita's eyes widened at what was inside.

Light glinted off of the Sand hitae-ate that was inside. The girl picked it up with shaky hands.

"The council agreed to it this afternoon. If you were a missing-nin, Konoha would not let you enter the village," Gaara said, glancing across as she held it up.

Hair fell across the girl's face as she looked down over the present before she hugged it close. "Even if you _had_ to give it to me, it still means so much," she replied quietly, "because this means I really can start again. I know that things will be different because I have a place I can call home now, and be proud of."

"Things won't be easy though, Kita." Baki frowned.

Kita shook her head with a smile. "I know things won't be totally different- people will still give me strange stares like I've always gotten. But now I have a chance to truly prove myself and maybe one day I can find my dream."

"What dream is that?" asked the man.

The girl looked up at him and in turn gazed at each of the others. "That one day, I can become a strong and proud ninja... of Suna."

* * *

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**A/N: **There was going to be a comment here, but I forgot what it was going to be... anyway, next time we should be hitting the road to Konoha!

**Til next time! **


	48. Leaving Suna

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Huzzah, an update at last! Gotta tell ya that I've been working on my Temari TimeJump costume, by the way! I've finished the fan and my Suna headband came in the post the other week. I can't wait until it's finished! Anyway, on with the story!

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**_Chapter 48: Leaving Suna _**

**Earlier that afternoon, after Kita had left...**

"Kazekage-sama, there is a message for you. It's from the Daimyo."

Jade eyes skimmed over the paper handed to him. "Are the members of the council still within the building?" he asked.

The messenger nodded. "I'm sure I saw most of them when I was coming here."

"Find them and tell them to come back to the council chambers."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara looked over the paper again. _This could be of some help..._

* * *

The members of the council looked irritated as they re-took their seats.

One of the older members placed his hands together on the table. "Gaara-sama, what is the meaning of calling this meeting? We had only just been dismissed from the last one!"

The red-haired Kazekage took his seat. "I'm going to make Kita a shinobi for Suna."

The older man from before let out a spluttered sound of surprise. "You're not serious, are you, Gaara-sama? The child is a Jinchuuriki! She is dangerous!"

"We had established that the Nibi was no longer a threat," replied Gaara coolly.

"Yes, but she still presents a danger as posed by the Akatsuki! We can't forget that!"

Yuura coughed to interrupt the man. "We have been over this last meeting, haven't we? The only 'threats' we have from this girl is if the Akatsuki decide to attack the village, and the girl is a threat to herself if she cannot defend herself. However, what Gaara-sama has presented to us is quite an ingenious solution to our problem."

"What are you talking about, Yuura? What could this possibly solve?" asked the older man impatiently.

"Haven't you forgotten that this girl is the last member of the Mitsukai clan? And last heir to its Bloodline as well?" Yuura's mouth twitched in a smile. "By making her a shinobi for the village, we have gained ourselves a more than valuable ally! We may just be able to get more funding for the village as well!"

The other man's clenched hands tightened. "That doesn't matter! She still cannot be approved as a genin unless either the majority of the council agrees to it or the Daimyo commands it."

"The Daimyo has approved it," commented Gaara, casually holding up a piece of paper with the Daimyo's seal on it, "and he says you'd be fools not to."

A few smirks flared up around the table as a stunned look came over the opposing man.

"Do you still plan on sending her to Konoha then?" he demanded, eye twitching at the paper. "Because the threat of the Akatsuki still stands and we cannot let it slip from our priorities. Neither can we place such a strain on our shinobi to be so constantly alert."

Gaara nodded. "Kita will still go to Konoha- that is until she is properly trained enough to defend herself and not place a strain on our resources. _Will that suffice_?"

The man relented to the red head's glare. "Yes, it will... Kazekage-sama."

Gaara closed his eyes in acknowledgement.

* * *

**Back in present time...**

Kita was curled up in the corner of the sofa, still wearing the party hat Temari had wrestled onto her and Kankuro's doll tucked under her arm. Temari gave a gentle smile at her.

"She wanted to stay up all night, but she forgets she's still a kid. It's hard to believe such a demon could be inside someone like her when she's sleeping like that," she commented.

"Do you mean the Nibi, or how she can go from sweet to bad attitude in an instance?" asked Kankuro with a tired shrug, taking the party hat off his head and rubbing his chin. "She sure can rub it in, you know?"

Baki took his hat off as well. "When you've been living the way she has with people throwing all that kind of stuff at her, it'd be rare for her to find some way to give that back to the world. Still, I'll be sad to see her gone."

"Baki-sensei, she won't be gone for too long..." Temari responded. She gathered up wrapping paper in her arms and crushed it together into a ball. "And it'll not just be good for her, but the village too. That's why you did it, didn't you Gaara?" She glanced over at her younger brother who was staring out the window- his party hat still stationary on his head. He didn't respond.

Kankuro shrugged again. "Who knows what's in that head of his? Anyway, I'm off to sleep. I'm on patrol duty tomorrow and I'm not walking around a baking desert half-asleep." The young man gave a stifled yawn before trudging up the stairs.

"I'm off too then," commented Baki with an acknowledging nod to Temari.

"Goodnight Baki-sensei," replied the blonde just before he shut the door. She lobbed the ball of crushed wrapping paper into a nearby waste bin then turned around and wondered what to do about Gaara and Kita. She noticed her brother had swapped his gazing from out the window to Kita. He hardly even blinked as he watched the girl sleeping softly.

Temari gave a tired sigh and shook her head. Those two were just too strange sometimes. She was just about to turn back to cleaning up the table when she heard a voice.

"Konoha isn't going to take her."

She blinked and looked at Gaara curiously. His gaze didn't move. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"The Hokage hates her," he replied blankly.

"You mean Tsunade-sama?" Temari gave a slight frown. "Well, it _does_ go without saying that there are probably a lot of people out there that don't like Kita."

"No." Gaara frowned as well. "I went through the records Konoha had exchanged with us after the invasion with Sound- a close friend of hers was killed by a person of the Mitsukai clan."

Temari's jaw felt tight suddenly. "But then, if you knew this, then why are we still going through with this? Why risk it, or even allow Kita to go? You didn't have to listen to the old coots in the council- you could have ordered them to keep out of the whole thing. Even the Daimyo wanted her as a Suna ninja. She could have stayed!" She gritted her teeth as she tried to keep her voice down.

Finally, Gaara looked away from the cat-eared girl to the floor just in front of Temari's feet. "I agreed because I don't want her here."

His sister's eyes widened before a disgusted look overcame her face- one that Gaara had seen often before meeting Uzumaki Naruto, but not until now. "Damn it, Gaara, she admires you more than anything else. She looks up to you despite everything I've seen you do to her. I don't know what you think of her anymore it's so confusing now. One minute you act as though she's precious to you, and the next you treat her like trash. Who the hell do you think you are to do this to her, Gaara!?"

Kita gave a startled jump in her sleep before curling up tighter. Temari continued to glare at him, her hands tightening into fists.

Gaara stood up and went for the front door. He paused before putting his hand on the handle, staring down at it. "I need time," he mumbled, "I don't understand it yet." He left, closing the door after him.

Temari's fists loosened. She gave a tiring expression at the closed door. _Time, is it... to be able to understand what you haven't been able to before...? Just how hard must things like this be for you, little brother?_

* * *

**Two days later... **

Kita marvelled over the new clothes Temari had gotten made for her. They were, for a word, _per_fect- one that Kita purred over with joy. Temari was a marvel at picking colours. Kita's jacket was a deep violet colour. It was complimented by, in yellow, a hood, turned up cuffs and edges along the bottom and beside the zipper (that went straight until going off at an angle). The rest of her attire matched in a sense. Her black pants flared slightly, also bearing yellow stripes going down the sides. The same yellow was used on the edges of her black fingerless gloves and on the sides of her ninja sandals. The only other colour was red, in the form of a collar and matching belt.

"Hey. Looking snappy there, Kita!" Kankuro smirked as she leapt down the stairs three at a time.

"Do they fit okay?" asked Temari with a hint of worry.

"They're great!" Kita responded with her cat-like grin. "You even got my clan's symbol!" She turned around and jerked a thumb at a figure 8 on its side- a never-ending loop, emblazed in yellow. She glanced over at Gaara, hoping for a comment, but finding none. Her ears drooped a little as he turned away.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at her. "Where's your hitae-ate? You should be wearing it now, you know?"

"I forgot!" Kita quickly sorted through her pack and found her hitae-ate before tying it on around her neck.

_I'll have to hope I get some more money soon. I don't really have much else besides the clothes on my back and the presents everyone gave me. I'd feel bad about asking for money... _She glanced around guiltily before realising something.

"Are we walking?" she asked with a wince.

"It will take us three days by foot," explained Temari, holding up two large bottles of water to her to take, "so make sure you don't guzzle all that down at once."

Kita sighed. "Well, it's not like I'm not used to it. And at least this time there's water." She accepted the bottles and placed them in her bag.

"I don't know how you even managed to survive out there before," commented Kankuro, frowning at her.

The cat-eared girl scratched the back of her neck. "I usually just kept walking until I collapsed, or at least waited until I found water and then collapsed."

The puppet-user shook his head in dismay. "If you're going to be a Suna-nin, then you gotta learn how to survive in the desert properly. Or else you'll turn up like you did, dehydrated and close to death. You have no idea how to ration, do you?"

"Well sorry if I was trying to live day by day!" Kita scowled back.

"Cut it out, you two." Temari snapped at them both. "I don't want to be in the middle of the desert with the two of you fighting the whole way."

Kita crossed her arms and mumbled out an apology; Kankuro casually waved a hand and grunted something that sounded like an apology.

_Geez, those two act like they're related sometimes..._ she thought with a groan and adjusted her pack. "Let's get going, okay?"

As the four began to walk, Kita edged closer to Gaara. The older boy seemed distracted by something.

"Gaara...?" Kita asked curiously.

"Kazekage-sama!"

Kita's ears perked up as shadows jumped out from all around them. Her claws slid out slightly responsively, wondering what was going on as it seemed like a millions voices were talking at once.

"Kazekage-sama! Don't go!" whimpered a group of girls, clasping their hands together and flocking around Gaara. The Kazekage stood emotionlessly, as if used to it.

"Great... it's Gaara's _fanclub_," whispered Kankuro to Temari and Kita. He saw Kita's look of utter confusion and tried to explain. "When word came back about the exam and then after his promotion, a small club of... devotees developed. They won't leave him alone sometimes."

"Kazekage-sama! Do you _have_ to go?" asked one of the girls. "If it's only to deliver that girl to Konoha, then why can't you just let your siblings do it? They're only chuunin after all!"

Kankuro and Temari glared at the girl. Kita felt her fists tighten.

"You forget that you are only a genin," replied Gaara quietly, yet still emotionlessly. "And I will only be away for a week. Farewell until then." He pushed forward, leaving the group behind him pouting.

Kita gave one last look at the girls. They looked disappointed.

"Hey, you! Kita, isn't it?" called one of them, catching Kita's attention. Kita blinked questioningly. "You'd better make sure nothing happens to our Kazekage-sama! We're counting on him!"

"Uh... sure..." Kita nodded before turning back and running to catch up with the others.

_"Our" Kazekage-sama, _Kita muttered in her head, frowning as she did so. _He doesn't belong to them! I bet he doesn't even like them! He'd..._ She paused, her eyes narrowing. _Why do I care so much about what he'd think about them? I'm not jealous... am I? _

The feeling she had in the pit of her stomach seemed to suggest so. She gulped, wondering what exactly was going on.

_Everything,_ she thought quietly, _just seems so confusing. I feel so angry over everything that's happened, but I just can't seem to be able to get it all out. _Her hands curled around the straps of her backpack. _I need to stay strong. I'm sure I know what Gaara is doing. He's doing this for my best intentions, isn't he? _

Kita glanced at the redhead's back while the rocky outcrops dropped away and turned into bleak desert. Sunagakure was left far behind as they continued to trudge over the sands, the sun beating down upon them from above.

Hours later, Kita squinted into the distance, hoping for at least _some_ change of scenery- a rock, a bush, anything. Before when she was travelling, she was so caught up in surviving the place that she hadn't really bothered to keep an eye on her surroundings. Now that there was nothing to worry about, the landscape bored her.

"Boring, huh?" asked Temari, slowing down a little to Kita's pace. "You get used to it after a while living in it."

"It's still boring..." grumbled the younger girl.

"How about we talk about something then?" suggested the blonde with a shrug.

Kita glanced up at her, trying to think of something. Her ears drooped as she asked something she had been wondering. "Do you think that if... things had been different, that I'd be a chuunin too now?"

Temari looked surprised at the question, then thoughtful. She smiled down at Kita. "You did do very well in the exams after all, even during the first part."

"How do you know that?" Kita asked curiously.

The blonde gave an irritable sigh. "That guy who ran the Grass Village, Jouryoku... He had cameras set up everywhere- not just the stadium. It was suspected that something was up after the exam, so investigators sanctified by the village elders searched his home. There they found tapes from the first part stored away in a vault. He argued that it was for monitoring the participant's progress for when it came time to judging, but after further interrogation it was found he intended to keep them to himself to try and learn village secrets."

"That guy was a sneaky bastard," interjected Kankuro with a frown. "I'm damn glad they forced him to step down."

Kita nodded as she listened. "But then, how do you guys know about what was on them?"

"In the end," continued Temari, "the tapes _were_ used for the first reason Jouryoku gave- to be used for judging. The villages had already asked that, because of what happened, that all finalists make it, but it was decided to at least make sure we were all up for the job. A couple of Suna's council was allowed to sit in on viewing some of the footage. Baki-sensei was in there as well, and he said that some of your footage had been showed. If it hadn't been for what happened, you would have shown a lot of promise for promotion."

Kita smiled grimly. "_Would _have..."

"There's always next time, you know?" Kankuro shrugged as he turned back for a moment.

The cat-eared girl gazed up at the sky. _Next time...? Is a second chance like that even possible? Maybe, but I'm doubtful. It could be years until I can enter again, unless Konoha has nothing against it. Still, it seems too complicated to think about at the moment. _

Minutes passed in silence. A cool breeze offered the smallest of reliefs as it drifted past, ruffling hair and clothes. Temari glanced ahead at her younger brother, a wistful look on her face.

_It'd been nice if you had said something too, Gaara, _she thought._ Kita needs encouragement. And, in some twisted way, you owe her. If the Nibi hadn't taken over and you hadn't stopped her, you may have been stuck as just a chuunin instead of Kazekage. I'm angry at you, though I know you can't help it. _

"What do you think Konoha will do with me?" asked Kita abruptly, interrupting Temari's thoughts.

"Probably place you on some team," suggested Kankuro. "There's bound to be a few teams with only one or two members in them. Then again, if they really want to stick it to you, they'll shuffle you around from team to team until you break."

Kita glared at him. "I'm not going to break. I'm going to stay with this until I can come back."

"Yeah, yeah... I'm sure you'll do fine and all that." Kankuro put his hands behind his head and stretched.

"I'll do better than fine! I'll-"

Temari gave a crooked smile as they argued. _Yup, like siblings... Kankuro never really did have someone he could have a proper relationship like that with. He was too afraid of Gaara to argue back, let alone have someone to poke a little fun at. _She glanced at Kita, seeing a slight grin on her face. _And she likes a good discussion too... This will... really be like losing a sibling. _

She grinned as well. "I don't have to cool you two off now, do I?" she asked playfully, tugging on her fan. Her grin became wicked-looking.

Kita and Kankuro looked at her in horror. "No ma'am!" They both chorused before smiling at each other.

Gaara continued to stare into the distance, only barely registering that anything had taken place. A thought had been nagging him in the back of his mind since leaving Sunagakure- and it seemed almost to terrify him.

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Whoo! Well, chances are that I won't be able to get another chapter up by the end of this year (unless I work like a slave this week and get one finished)... so anyway, if not, Happy Holidays!

**Next chapter may be a while because of holidays, but hopefully it won't be too long! **


	49. Simple Negotiations?

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** I hope everyone had a nice New Year and Christmas! I know I did! I got to do lots of fun things, hehe. Lots of DDR too, which is something I don't get to play too often. Geez, I must have spent so much on that... anyway, to the story!

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 49: Simple Negotiations? _**

**Three days later... **

Kita shielded her eyes as she stared up at the gates to Konohagakure. Before, as they approached the village she had seen the edges of a cliff, marked with faces. One was being hewn out of the stone currently as well, though it was only half completed, showing a rough face outline with jagged outcrops representing vague facial features. Kita guessed that it would be the newest Hokage though- Tsunade.

She frowned at the thought of meeting the woman and wondered if all would go smoothly.

_Probably not,_ she grumbled to herself. _Things are never quite as simple as you'd like it. _

"Kita."

The girl blinked and turned to face Gaara. The red-head had been relatively silent the entire journey. It had made her feel nervous.

Gaara looked down at her with jade eyes, a slight frown on his face. "Treat this as a mission. Be professional and diplomatic. Use proper titles whenever you can."

"But, why?" she asked, eyebrows furrowing. The idea of having to be courteous and polite to everyone in this village annoyed her, let alone having to use honorifics for every person she met there. "I don't have too all the time, do I?"

Temari put a hand on her shoulder. "You've got a lot at stake, Kita. You already have a lot of enemies as it is- don't try to make more. The best you can do is at least _try_ to keep people on your side here."

"Sis is right, just try your best," added Kankuro. "You've also got the reputation of Suna to uphold now."

Kita sighed inwardly. "Fine… but I can't make any promises! You guys know I hate this sort of stuff. It makes me feel so uncomfortable and fake."

_If anything, it makes me feel like Nibi with that stupid smarmy smile it had…_ She chewed on her bottom lip, cringing when she accidentally bit it with a fang. _I guess it felt the same way as me though when it had to suck up to Shinigami. Damn it, I bet that's where I got it from… _

"Kita, are you listening?"

"Yeah, yeah, I am." Kita crossed her arms as Kankuro scowled at her.

Temari glanced at Gaara, then back at the silver-haired girl. "You should also call Gaara Kazekage-sama while you are staying here as well. It's the respectful thing to do when in a situation like this."

"Konoha…" Kita stared back up at the gates. "They will let me stay here, won't they?"

"You don't have to worry about that, Gaara's always got something up his sleeve." Temari smiled.

Gaara looked grim as he started to walk before them, the gates opening up as he approached. Two ANBU stood behind it, waiting for them.

"Kazekage-sama, this way," said one of them, bowing as he did. The both of them wore the typical ANBU masks, faces obscured behind them.

"Remember to stay polite," whispered Temari. "Don't do anything to jeopardise this."

"I know, I know," Kita hissed back irritably. Her ears flattened down.

"Your ears are a dead giveaway of what you're thinking," muttered Kankuro with a sardonic roll of his eyes.

Kita clutched her fists tightly; her mind felt like it was about to explode. _It's not like I can really help it!_ She took a breath to calm down. _Alright, just… just stay positive then. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts!_

She grumbled as she felt a wave of cynicism wash over her.

_Hell, this will never work,_ she thought.

* * *

Tsunade tapped her fingers against the top of a small pile of paperwork on her desk. She heard the doors to her office open as she stared down at the profile and photos that had been sent to her from Suna.

"Tsunade-sama, I've been informed that the Kazekage and his siblings have arrived, along with the Jinchuuriki, Mitsukai Kita."

"Thank you, Shizune," muttered the older woman. "Could you go to the lobby and meet them please?"

Shizune gave a worried expression at her mentor as she picked up some finished pieces of paperwork. "Tsunade-sama, you don't seem your usual self… you haven't even tried to drink any sake while I'm not looking. And you've finished all your paperwork as well. That's not like you."

The Hokage glanced up at her. "In a situation like this I can't afford to be drunk, even to give myself false confidence. I was only able to keep my worry of this away was with the worry of paperwork instead. This is the first time I've even heard of such a formal 'exchange' like this."

"Don't you think it could be a good thing?" asked her assistant. "Anything that better improves our relations with other countries is sure to be, especially  
Suna."

Tsunade shook her head. "If it were only that simple… There's so much more to this than just a simple 'here you go, right as rain'. If were a normal, everyday ninja it would be, but this is more complicated than I can bear to think."

"…I don't quite understand, Tsunade-sama," confessed Shizune with her usual worried look, "I know it must be somewhat complicated because of the girl's origins and her status as a Jinchuuriki, but why not treat her as a 'normal, everyday ninja'? We could give her a new start. In many ways, she'd be a lot like Naruto-kun, right?"

The older woman slammed her fist on the table as she stood up, her eyes burning angrily. "She is not like Naruto and she never will be! Don't compare him to her! She's trash, just like the rest of her clan!" She picked up her chair furiously, brandishing it towards the window.

Shizune flinched, clutching the documents she held close to her. It had been quite a while since she had seen her teacher in such a state, not since becoming Hokage at least. "Tsunade-sama! Please don't! It won't be a good impression if they see you've lost your temper! And we only just replaced that window not too long ago!"

The Hokage slumped back into her seat as she replaced it and swept a hand over her face. "Shizune, this is just… complicated for me… If I don't do this, I'll have the entire Wind Country breathing down my neck until the day I die. It could even cost our relationship with Suna although it's clear the girl is a danger to us even if we are the better place for her at the moment."

"Then what will you do?" asked her assistant.

"I don't know... I'll just have to hope Gaara is in an accommodating mood. Every bit of this negotiation depends upon him. But, I will just have to try my best in stopping them."

Tsunade stood back up and turned to look over the village. They would be here soon.

* * *

Kita gave a wary look at the ANBU as they disappeared in clouds of smoke before the Hokage Tower. They were now in the company of a woman with short dark hair and a welcoming smile- though Kita was sure there was an edge of worry in the expression as well.

"Gaara-sama, it's an honour to have you here with us," commented the woman, bowing at him.

Gaara gave a simple nod of acknowledgement at her.

The woman paused hesitantly before speaking. "Tsunade-sama is upstairs in her office if you would follow me."

The group followed her lead into the tower, passing clients and other ninja as they climbed a set of stairs. They finally arrived at the top floor of the tower and stood before a pair of imposing oak doors. Their guide opened them up allowing access inside and letting them see the Hokage working at her desk.

"Tsunade-sama, Gaara-sama is here," said the dark haired woman, bowing at Gaara again before closing the doors behind her and leaving them.

Tsunade looked up, straight into Kita's eyes. A slight wrinkle appeared as she averted her gaze to Gaara.

Kita instantly felt the tension in the room thicken. Her body felt stiff as she walked forward.

The Hokage stood up, smiling broadly at them. "Gaara-dono, it's such a pleasure to have you visit us. Please, take a seat."

The Kazekage sat in the only chair opposite the desk.

"Eh… no chairs for us," grumbled Kankuro, looking around hopefully but finding none.

"You'll survive." Tsunade said with a casual wave.

"I thought we were supposed to be formal here," Kankuro muttered. Kita gave him a doubtful look.

Temari nudged him in the ribs. "Don't complain. Set a good example."

Tsunade spread out a number of documents on the table. "Shall we have some tea before we discuss the exchange?"

"I did not come for a tea party," Gaara informed her suddenly with a frown. The woman's brow twitched in response. "I would like to know your position on the exchange first- the real position, not the one for the sake of the councils."

"And what 'position' would that be?" Tsunade's smile disappeared slowly as she eyed him.

"I believe you are prejudiced against Kita joining the village, even for such a short amount of time and although Konoha has been struggling for manpower to complete missions." His voice was steady as the woman continued to glare at him. "I would like to know your reasons now without having to go through hoops in the discussions to get it."

The older woman paused for a moment as her eyes narrowed. "Of course… you would have done some research before coming here. You would know all about what happened."

_What do they mean?_ Kita asked herself.

"But then," continued Tsunade after a thought, "you would also know all about the Mitsukai's dirty history- that they're nothing but lowly pieces of shinobi scum."

Gaara didn't reply.

"What?" Kita asked in a low growl.

Tsunade changed her gaze to Kita, looking down her nose at the girl. "Did you think your clan was perfect before they were wiped out? They were wiped out for a reason- because that's what they were made to do." She placed a document on the table before her and pointed to it. Kita saw name after name of people with her clan name on it. They filled the entire page. "That is the number of Mitsukai who died in the Third Shinobi War, _just_ in the war. I have many other documents reporting more deaths of your kind. And on every page you will see they were the ones sent in first, as the vanguard, and more importantly, as assassins who would have no hope of being able to come back alive."

Kita's fists tightened. Gaara's orders for her to be polite and diplomatic echoed in her head as the woman kept talking, her tone growing ever harsher.

"They called the Mitsukai clan 'Iwa's Suicide Dogs'." Her nose wrinkled up as if there was a bad smell in the room. "It was because they were said that they weren't fit to be called shinobi- because they had no ability to be shinobi and stay in the shadows. They were useless if they did. They could barely survive so they took the only way out they knew, by acting as soldiers for the frontlines. They would run to their deaths trying to take as many down as they could. It wasn't noble, what they did. They did it simply because they had nothing to live for. And that's all their so-called magnificent bloodline was good for; to die for!"

Tsunade's fingernails ground against the wood of her desk as she shouted the last sentence out. She glared at the girl for brief moment before remembering she was in the middle of a supposed diplomatic exchange. A thought of worry crept through her mind as she realised that she may have changed the outcome of the exchange- perhaps for the worst.

Kita's breathing was ragged, like she had just run a marathon, not just received a marathon of insults. She glanced at Gaara, seeing he had barely moved an inch through the entire thing. Kita almost felt resentful he hadn't stepped in during it. But now wasn't the time for that...

_I... guess I had always thought of my clan as being perfect..._ Kita thought to herself,_ but that was a lie. Even Dad had once told me that the Mitsukai bloodline wasn't entirely pure... But then, don't all clans and even families have their own 'dirty histories'? I didn't even know my clan, so why is this woman placing me in with them? Dad wasn't like what she described- he was a great jounin that everyone regarded highly. I should try to be the same. I'm my own person. But, there's something else that seems strange here. She hasn't once even mentioned her opinion on me being a Jinchuuriki... does that mean she's okay with that, but not my family history? _

She was sure Temari's and Kankuro's eyes were on her along with the Hokage's, like they were waiting for her to explode. Instead, she took a breath, wondering briefly about just how Gaara was able to keep so calm and composed.

"Tsunade-sama," Kita addressed her in as unaffected tone as possible. "I understand now your opinion on my family background, but I wish for you to know that although I'm a Mitsukai with the same bloodline, I'm not like them at all, and I don't ever plan to be. If you allow me to join Konoha, even for a short time, I will work my hardest to prove that to you and do my best with any mission you give me."

The older woman gaped at her, not having expected this at all.

Kita did her best at a sincere smile. "Now that I'm no longer a ninja for Iwa, it would be right for me to say that I'd be a Jinchuuriki first and not a 'Suicide Dog', like you put it. I'm part cat anyway." She twitched her ears up and down, keeping the same unwavering smile on her face.

_Did... she just make a joke?_ Tsunade couldn't believe her own ears. _She's making a joke before me... even after that?! Just who is this girl?! But... that smile... it looks just like Naruto's... _

"It seems that Kita is very willing to join Konoha," Gaara interrupted her thoughts suddenly. "Has your opinion been changed, Tsunade-dono?"

Tsunade sunk down into her seat, wearing a bewildered expression. She shook her head to clear her mind of what had just happened. She took a moment to think, leaning back in her chair. She closed her eyes, resting her chin on her hands as she placed them on the armrests and tried to regain her composure. "Could I speak alone to you, Gaara? I think we could be more personal without them here."

Gaara nodded in response and looked at the others.

Kita gave him a down-heartened look before trailing off behind Temari and Kankuro. _I did my best, _she thought.

* * *

"She's very well-behaved," commented Tsunade absently. She swivelled around in her chair to half-face the window. She glanced across the village, seeing people walking around like ants. In the distance she could see a familiar apartment block- one that was currently void of its blond-haired tenant. "Gaara... what do you think Naruto would say if he were here?"

Gaara paused. _What would he say? _It was a strange question, but he was sure of the answer.

The Hokage turned back to him, a distant look of sadness on her face.

"Gaara, if Konoha was to reject her, not just by me, but by everyone in this village- would you go to war with us?"

"The alliance between Suna and Konoha could be easily broken," replied Gaara stiffly.

Tsunade glanced at the paper with the names of Kita's relatives on it. "Still, war is a dangerous thing. You could end up putting her in more jeopardy by doing it. And the Akatsuki could even decide to use the moment to attack as well. Isn't that right?"

"True," Gaara agreed slowly.

"Tell me, Gaara; just what lengths would you go to in order to protect this girl? If the Akatsuki were to swoop down upon her at this very moment, what would you do? Would you protect her?"

Gaara took a while before answering. "Yes, I would protect her."

"And that is because she is a precious person to you, isn't she? Naruto would have taught you that." She didn't wait for a reply, sighing as she spoke again. "You're still young, Kazekage. And you've got a lot of things to work out. But... I truly do think that if Naruto were here in this office, he would be begging with his own life for me to let the girl stay."

"Tsunade-dono..."

The woman held up a hand for him to stop. "If you think I'm doing this just for Naruto's sake, then you'd be right. That is the _only_ reason I will allow this exchange."

"I understand," Gaara replied, "but Kita expects to be treated like any other shinobi in your village- neither as a special case, nor someone not deserving of respect."

A slight grimace appeared on Tsunade's face. "I can't dictate how people will respond to her; just ask that do act in fairness." She tapped on the table with her fingernails. Negotiations always annoyed her. "I expect you'd also want us to restrict where she can go?" She opened a nearby scroll perched on the edge of her desk, revealing a map of nearby countries.

"Yes, I do." He glanced down at the map. "Keep her to the south of the continent, if you have to send her anywhere outside of this country. Kusa has a bounty on her head, and many who resent her. It is possible some would go seeking revenge if they heard she was in the vicinity."

Tsunade looked pensively at the map too. "We should probably restrict her from even going too far north of this country as well. We get a lot of strange types crossing through up there. Now... about a team..."

* * *

**Outside...**

Kita watched her toes wriggle in her sandals as she waited impatiently. "You think I went okay in there?" she asked. She looked up and down the hallway which was surprisingly empty.

"I seriously thought you were going to blow a screw loose there," admitted Kankuro with a shrug.

Temari scowled at her brother momentarily before smiling at Kita. "I think you did, but that's not for us to decide."

"Tsunade-sama must have some kind of a grudge with my family," muttered the girl. "It seemed a lot more than a judgement she came up with from just knowing what they did."

Temari's smile vanished. "Perhaps," she replied, unsure wether or not to tell her what she knew. She glanced down at Kita as she had taken up staring down at her feet again. _She can sure be analytical when she needs to be, _she thought worriedly, _though she still hasn't worked out Gaara yet. Maybe she never will at this rate either..._

Kita's ears swivelled towards the doors as one opened. Tsunade looked down at her, her face serious.

"It seems a 'Welcome to Konoha' is in order then, Mitsukai Kita."

* * *

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**A/N: **Well, it's about time... The next part has been playing over and over in my head for quite a long time now. And how appropriate, we're up to chapter 50 next time. Hard to believe, but true! Maybe I'll try and organise something a little extra special if I get time?

**See ya next time! **


	50. New Existance

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Yippee, 50 chapters! Can you believe it? Neither can I! And over 500 reviews... I think I'll go faint now. But not before I say a BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED ME AND REVIEWED SO FAR!

Really guys, without you all pushing me on, I probably would have left this behind ages behind. But I'm really glad I have been able to continue. The story has become something really special to me. And that's why I decided as a special treat, that at the end, I'd include a bit from the original version of TTA I first wrote about 2 years ago.

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**_Chapter 50: New Existence _**

Kita stared wide-eyed at the Hokage until a smile tugged at her lips. "I'm... accepted?"

Tsunade gave a breath of irritation. "Yes, now hurry and say your goodbyes. You're one of my shinobi now, so you listen to me."

The cat-eared girl seemed to react like an electric shock had run through her body. She whirled around to face Temari and Kankuro as Gaara strode out of the Hokage's office. "You guys are leaving already?" she asked with a slightly panicked tone.

Temari gave a weak smile. "Sorry Kita, but the village needs us back as soon as possible. Gaara can't stick around forever. You understand, right?"

Kita nodded slowly. "Yeah... I know... but... not even for a few more hours?" She glanced over at Gaara, but the red-head avoided her.

"No can do." Kankuro shrugged at her. He gave her a pat on the head, making her frown slightly. "But it won't be for long, so don't worry."

"I... thank you..." Kita said quietly, gazing down at the floor. "Thanks for bringing me here. I'll train my best until I'm back."

Temari bent down and gave her a hug. "But don't train too hard. You need to keep yourself healthy enough, so don't overdo it." She stood back up and grinned. "See you soon then."

Kita did her best to try and smile as the three started heading for the stairs. She gazed after Gaara as he went. Her fists tightened. "Gaara, wait!" She leapt down the stairs after him.

Gaara paused and turned as she stood before him.

"I'll... I'll miss you," she offered, looking hopeful. "But I'll write to you when I can, I promise."

The Kazekage stood silent for a moment, staring at her. Finally, he closed his eyes briefly and turned back. "Goodbye, Mitsukai Kita," he muttered before he continued down the stairs.

Kita felt her hands trembling as she watched him disappear down the stairs after Temari and Kankuro. _He... He said goodbye like it was forever... Gaara... why does it feel like I'm being put in a cage? _

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she looked down at the girl. _So that's how it is... geez, the kid looks like a little lost kitten... damn, I'm gonna have to look after this "kitten" too. _

"Sorry for taking so long, Tsunade-sama," Kita apologised as she arrived at the top flight of the stairs. She realised her ears were drooping and tried to think happier thoughts.

The woman sighed. "Alright, come on in and we'll talk." She led Kita back into the office and took a seat.

Kita paused, glancing back at the stairway before sitting down.

"You're close to him, aren't you?" asked Tsunade suddenly.

"What?" responded Kita in surprise. She fidgeted for a second whilst the Hokage stared her down. "He... gave me a second chance. I've never really been able to thank him for it properly."

"Because he's such a stick in the mud," replied Tsunade, changing her gaze to her fingernails and frowning- she'd chipped one during the negotiations. "People like Gaara aren't easy to get along with, but you'll find a way someday."

Kita gave the woman a questioning expression.

"Nevermind..." She shook her head. "Let's talk about what you'll be doing while you're here." She pointed at the map she had laid on the table earlier. "Due to certain circumstances I'm sure you are well-aware of, you'll be restricted from doing any missions in the north of the country- that also includes the north end of this country though. Okay?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Kita nodded. She looked thoughtful for a second. "Tsunade-sama... will I get much time to train?"

"I believe so," Tsunade answered. "Though, I also believe you might have a bit _too_ much time on your hands."

Kita gave her another questioning look.

"It depends though, so don't rely on my words there." Tsunade swivelled around in her chair, hiding her own expression.

There was a knock on the door. Tsunade swivelled back around towards her desk, glad for the interruption.

"I brought tea," announced Shizune happily, holding up a tray and walking over. She placed it on the table and smiled as she looked over at Kita. "I take it the negotiations went well. Welcome to Konoha then, Kita-chan." She handed a cup of tea to the girl.

"Uh... thanks..." Kita replied awkwardly at the happy woman.

Shizune placed a cup in front of Tsunade. "Have you organised living arrangements yet, Tsunade-sama?"

"What? Damn!" The Hokage flung up her arms. She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I need a drink..." she grumbled, pulling out a bottle of sake.

"Tsunade-sama..." Shizune raised an eyebrow at her and motioned slightly to Kita.

"Fine..." muttered the Hokage. She gave Kita a hard stare. "Don't drink, okay?" She took a swig from the bottle.

Shizune shook her head. "Tsunade-sama..."

"What?" asked the other woman in an irritated tone. "Oh, living arrangements."

Kita's eyebrows were knit in confusion. _What the hell... Is this what the Hokage of Konoha really is like? She seemed so serious and strict before... _

Shizune gave up and shrugged in defeat. "Well, I do know of a place that would be appropriate for Kita. All she would need to do is keep the place clean and tidy until the tenant gets back from his training trip."

Tsunade tapped a finger on the side of her sake bottle. "I suppose... she would be leaving for Suna when he gets back anyway."

"Huh? How's that?" asked Kita. "Who do you mean?"

"Uzumaki Naruto-kun, of course," Shizune smiled.

_That's right..._ Kita thought suddenly. _This is the village Gaara told me he was from. _

Another thought flashed across her mind. "But why would I be leaving when he gets back?"

"It's complicated," replied Tsunade, frowning at her. "But in the meanwhile, until Naruto comes back, you can stay at his apartment. Just keep it clean."

_Complicated my tail,_ Kita muttered to herself whilst trying to avoid letting her ears express her thoughts. _Judging from her reactions before, I bet she'd rather just not have me around when he gets back so he can't meet me. _

"Now, about your team," Tsunade interrupted Kita's thoughts as she wrote down something on a piece of paper and slid it over to her. "I'll confirm the arrangement with them. Meet them tomorrow morning at the place I've written down. Shizune will take you to your apartment."

"Come on, Kita-chan. I'll point out some places of interest along the way." Shizune offered.

Kita stood up. She bowed briefly to Tsunade as the woman took another swig from her sake bottle whilst Shizune had her back turned.

_And I thought this place was normal..._ Kita thought tiredly. _Let's just hope the team is semi-normal at least. _

* * *

**Meanwhile, at the entrance to Konoha... **

The three Suna siblings walked in silence as they made their way out of the village. Temari balled her hands into fists, staring at her youngest brother's back.

"I didn't know you guys were in town." A boy sporting a chuunin jacket and spiky ponytail said as he stepped out of a nearby shop with a bag of groceries.

Temari stopped, interrupted by him. "Shikamaru...?"

Gaara and Kankuro turned.

The young chuunin raised an eyebrow at them. "Here on business?"

"Uh, kind of," Temari replied awkwardly. "We were escorting someone."

Shikmaru's other eyebrow raised as well. "They must have been important if they warranted the Kazekage to come as well."

Kankuro snorted in laughter. "She probably would have complained the entire way if he hadn't."

"_That _important, huh? Hope she paid well."

"Not exactly, Shikamaru," Temari interrupted, giving a quick glance at her silent brother. "We were escorting Mitsukai Kita."

Shikamaru's face twitched uneasily. "That... girl from the last Chuunin Exams? She's in Konoha?"

"Please, don't worry," the blonde hurriedly assured him- she hoped he would understand. "She's going to be here for a little while and join a team. Kita's not the same person. She's actually very nice."

The boy gave her a doubtful look for a second before shrugging. "Feh, it's too troublesome to try and understand... I'll see you later then." He gave a casual wave and walked off.

Temari sighed. "You're the troublesome one..." she muttered to herself before turning and falling back into line behind her brothers. She frowned, again trying to work out the words she wanted to say.

"Hey, Bro, what you did back there was really uncool," Kankuro said unexpectedly, catching Temari off guard. Gaara shot him a sideways glance. His brother raised an eyebrow at him. "It's obvious she likes you."

Gaara frowned, staring down at the road ahead. "She's just a kid."

Kankuro gave a snort. "Yeah, and so are you, but look what you've both been through as kids. You'd think you could at least be a _little _nicer to her than that. Out of all the people in the world, you'd be one of the few who would understand her in a way those of us can't. I don't want to sound hypocritical, but grow up already."

_Kankuro..._ Temari thought with a smile. _You said it better than I could have... _

Gaara's frown softened. _'I'll... I'll miss you...'_ Kita's words rung through his head.

* * *

"That building over there is Konoha's library," explained Shizune, pointing to a large white building. "The library is used by everyone in the village- not just by ninja, but it does have a special restricted section not open to the public. There are a number of books and scrolls in it with different training techniques and other information. However, some of the higher-class scrolls are kept under lock and key since they're forbidden, and only available to certain ninja of a high ranking."

Kita nodded vaguely as they walked. At the moment, she just felt too troubled to really listen whole-heartedly.

"And if you follow that street, you'll find the Ninja Academy, where the students attend. Occasionally, genin will be called in to help give the students a few tips and lessons on how to be a ninja. It's..." Shizune paused, seeing Kita's expression. She sighed. "Kita-chan, please don't think any wrong of Tsunade-sama. Really, she does mean well..."

"Huh?" Kita blinked and looked up. She gave a slight frown. "It didn't really seem that way..."

The woman gave a concerned smile. "It's just that Tsunade-sama is looking out for Naruto-kun. Don't take it as ill-will, but the two of them are very close. She's just doing what she thinks is in Naruto-kun's best intentions."

"Is it her best intentions that I don't meet him then?" asked Kita, her frown deepening.

"Unfortunately, it seems so," sighed Shizune. She gave a crooked smile. "But, she is one who would know exactly how Naruto-kun would react if he met you."

"Do you know how he would?"

Shizune's smile became more genuine. "I think he'd... fall for you."

Kita stopped walking. "What...? '_Fall_' for me? What does that mean?"

"It's not what you think it is," replied Shizune hurriedly, waving her hands briefly. "It's... just that Naruto-kun has a way of making friends with some of the most unlikely people. He did so to Gaara-sama, when nobody in their right mind would have thought any good of him. And I believe he'd become friends with you too. That is why Tsunade-sama would probably have thought it would have been dangerous..."

"Oh..." muttered Kita. "Because of the Akatsuki?"

Shizune nodded. "Naruto-kun would never abandon a friend he knew was in danger. If the Akatsuki were to go looking for you, and Naruto-kun found out, then I have no doubt he would try and help you."

"And that would put him in danger," Kita finished for her. She gazed at the ground. "I understand..."

"I'm sorry it has to be that way," Shizune apologised. "But until we know it is safe for people like you, I don't think the villages can take those chances."

Kita shook her head. "No, it's okay. After all, that's why I was sent here."

The woman gave once last look of worry before she went back to pointing out places and explaining them. Kita nodded vaguely as they continued on. Although she understood, she didn't want it to be true. It was just... saddening.

_So, to this Naruto, I am never meant to exist... because like what Shizune said- I'd be a danger. _

Her fists tightened.

_Why does it seem this way everywhere I go? I was considered a danger in Iwa, and then Araiki had to smuggle me out of Kusa because I was considered a danger there too. And now, even Gaara has palmed me off to a new place because I was considered too much of a danger in Suna as well... It's... Is it fair? I mean, is it better off that I hadn't existed? Then people wouldn't have been put in danger because of me. I don't want to be a danger to anyone..._

"...And if you look over there, you'll see the place where Naruto-kun's apartment is."

Kita was snapped out of her thoughts as she spotted a slightly ramshackle-looking apartment building. The paint was faded and peeling, and looked like it suffered the "disadvantages" of too many birds roosting on it, but Kita gave it a smile anyway. A home was better than no home at all. The pair began to ascend the stairs.

"Uh, Kita-chan?" Shizune gave a worried look at the girl's empty-looking backpack. "Is that all you have?"

The cat-eared girl nodded. "Yeah... I only have the clothes I'm wearing really. I was borrowing Temari's old ones before, but they didn't really fit right."

Shizune tapped a finger on her chin thoughtfully as they came to the top floor. "Well, you can probably go get some new ones tomorrow afternoon after your meeting, so you should be fine until then." She stopped outside a door and handed a set of keys to Kita. "Here you are. Make yourself comfortable and get some rest before tomorrow morning. The place might need a little cleaning though, but hopefully it's not too much..." Shizune trailed off, giving a fake kind of smile at her words.

"It's okay," mumbled Kita, though not exactly keen on the idea of it.

The woman waved as she descended the stairs, leaving Kita staring at the front door.

_Geez, I hope there isn't some pig sty in there. I haven't exactly have had to clean anything in a while from my lifestyle..._

She gulped and unlocked the door.

"...eh?" Kita blinked. The place... was nowhere near the pig sty she had pitched it to be. There was a bit of dust around and the occasional cobweb, but apart from that, it was relatively spotless. Kita stepped inside with an expression halfway between confusion and worry.

_Has someone else been cleaning in here? _she asked herself, inspecting the kitchen. She opened the cupboards, finding a few cups of instant ramen present. She held one up. _Strange... the expiration date is further than it should be if these were left here over a year ago._

She placed the ramen back and continued to explore the tiny apartment, stopping before a dresser in the small living area. A number of photos were set up on it. Kita crouched down to examine them. In one, there was group photo of four people- three kids and an adult. Kita picked out the smiling pink-haired girl and the grey-haired jounin from back at the Chuunin Exams, though she couldn't identify the scowling black-haired one. She lightly placed a fingertip near the blond one that grinned like an idiot.

_That must be Naruto then, _she thought. She glanced at the other photos, seeing many places and faces she couldn't identify, except for one where the blond she had just picked out seemed to be held in a headlock by the Hokage whilst the two of them struggled against each other. Kita gave a crooked smile. _It's kind of weird, looking into someone else's life when they have no idea you even exist. _

The cat-eared girl stood back up and sighed, feeling a little homesick and worried about those she had left behind.

* * *

**The next morning...**

_BRRIIIIIIIINNNGGGG!!!!_

"What the hell?!" Kita yelled as she became entangled in the sheets and fell in a heap onto the floor. She rolled around, desperate to escape the confines of the sheets until the sound suddenly cut off. "Damn it, I forgot I set the stupid alarm clock." She growled angrily from within the rolls of bed sheets and started the task of carefully trying to unpick her claws from the material.

She eventually made her way out before realising that in the shock, the jutsu on her tail had dissolved.

"Damn it," she muttered again, setting the jutsu back up. "I hope that doesn't happen anywhere public..."

Kita muttered more to herself and began to get ready for the day- or the day that was about to begin. The sun hadn't even started to peek out from behind the horizon yet. After making the bed she sat down and put her head in her hands tiredly. There was a niggling in the back of her mind that didn't quite feel right, like she had woken up from a dream and had somehow forgotten it.

_But it felt dark... _Kita thought with a confused look. _And not quite... real... maybe it had something to do with the damn cat. _

A notion in the back of her mind seemed to suggest _she_ had something to do with it. Kita squashed the idea and got back to getting ready.

* * *

**A bit later... **

_Hope Naruto isn't the kind to kill someone over wearing his spare set of pyjamas,_ Kita thought as she messily crammed the blue and white striped outfit back into the draw. _Or eating his stockpiled ramen for breakfast- it's not like I had a lot of choice. _

She pulled her gloves on after she exited the apartment and locked up, slipping the keys into pocket. Giving a last check of the slip of paper Tsunade had given her, Kita leapt over the guardrail and towards meeting her new team.

* * *

**About 2 years ago during the Sound Invasion...**

_KABOOM!_

"Nikkou-chan, run for it! I'll hold them off!"

"I'm not leaving."

"But you're too weak for this fight!"

"I won't leave you. We'll make it together, okay? I prom..."

"Nikkou-chan...? NIKKOU!"

"Susu...mu..."

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **I hope all of you have enjoyed the story so far. Let's hope one day I can finish it... one day... But in the meanwhile, here is that special treat I said I'd include at the start: the original version of TTA.

And also, it would be awesome if you would, in your review, say a little something about your favourite moment in the story so far. I would really love to know.

**Thank you all for your support. **

* * *

* * *

**The Original Version of TTA (so old it's embarrassing, but what the hey): **

**Chapter 1: Cursed **

"Kill her! Slay her before she curses the town!"

Water splashed as small feet ran through puddle after puddle of muddy water.

"Mama!"

"Kita! I'm coming!"

There was a sharp cry of pain.

"Wrench! Stay back! We must kill it!"

"But she's my baby!"

Tears fell to the ground, mixing in with the rain.

"She's not anymore, Mitsukai-san! Once that creature took over her body, she ceased to exist!"

"Mama!"

"Kita!!"

Arrows flew… A woman jumped in front of a small girl…

"Mama…? Mama!"

"Don't worry, sweetie… Run… Just run… Find somewhere safe…"

The woman's eyes glazed over. The child cried.

"Damn it! Keep shooting!"

Piercing pain… The child's eyes quivered as she fell to the ground, riddled with arrows. The villagers walked over to the two bodies.

"Is it dead?"

"Yes… It must be."

The lead man nudged the child with his bow. She was seven years-old. Her silvery-blonde hair was streaked with blood; her grey eyes were clouded over and glazed. She had once been a normal child, but no longer. What told her apart from other children were the ears. The pair of black cat's ears jutted out from head.

"Chief, what happened to her?" one of the villagers asked.

"It's the Nekomata, the two-tailed bijuu." whispered the chief in reply.

"But, the Stone ninja were supposed to be battling it!" exclaimed another.

"Whatever happened, it's here now, but rest assured. It will not be bothering us anymore. Let us dispose of its filthy body."

The chief of the village bent down to pick up the blood-stained body. He glanced sideways at the body of the woman, Mitsukai-san, the girl's mother. It was saddening that her sacrifice had ended so vainly. The villagers behind him gave a sound of shock. The chief felt his arm freeze suddenly and looked down at his wrist. Small fingers held onto him like grim death, their nails digging into his skin.

"You killed her, you killed Mama." A disembodied voice echoed, making the air cold and breath turn into steam.

"Demon… Die already... Leave us in peace." The chief fought against her grip. Skin scraped off his arm as he pulled away. There was silence for a minute. The arm still held its form in the air.

"You will only find peace in your own deaths, murderers." The arm dropped, yellow eyes burst opened; there was a flash of light and blood-curdling shrieks… then… nothing…

* * *

The glowing orb of the sun rose to greet the new day. Birds chirped harmoniously and fluttered over the town. They were an inappropriate feature to the scene that lay below them.

"Tsuchikage-sama… What is this?" A young chuunin ninja stared in shock and disbelief.

The ground was wet. Not with water, but with blood. Bodies were strewn throughout the main street, bloating in the ever-warming rays of the sun. Blood drenched everything, from the bodies themselves, to the walls of the houses and shops. The small army of ninja slowly took in the sight before them. A few of the ninja vomited from the horrid stench of death that wafted up from the ground.

The fourth Tsuchikage, a muscled black-haired man with deep scars over his left cheek, surveyed the deserted town and frowned. "It was definitely the work of the Nekomata…"

"Damn it!" A disgruntled ninja crossed her arms. "All the work we did and still it got away."

"The third Tsuchikage's sacrifice to seal the Nekomata in a human did not work…" Another ninja whispered sadly.

There was a silence as the ninja remembered their brave leader.

"Hey!" Someone exclaimed from the back. "Over there! Something's coming!"

In the middle of the street, a small girl limped along. Blood covered her arms and was splattered all over her dress. A few arrows stuck out from her body. As she neared the ninja, she stopped and looked up at them. Her grey eyes were full of hatred and pain.

"Have you come to kill me too?" she hissed. Her cat ears flattened threateningly. Suddenly she collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.

The Tsuchikage squatted down and stared in amazement. He lightly touched one of the cat ears. He could feel the blood flowing through them. "The third's sealing did work after all, albeit not as he intended it…"

There was a concerned mumbling throughout the other ninja.

"This little girl killed all these people then?" gasped someone quietly.

"What do you mean Tsuchikage-sama?" asked a jounin near to the man.

The black-haired man stood up, but kept his gaze upon the girl. "When we destroyed the Nekomata's body, the third decided to seal its spirit within a newborn baby so that it would no longer be a threat, and also that we would then have control over it. Just as the third forfeited his life to seal the Nekomata away, the spirit escaped and fled into the night. But… the sealing jutsu was still upon it, so it was drawn into the body of another, and as it would seem, it chose this child."

"We succeeded in conquering the Nekomata then, Tsuchikage-sama? Is our mission complete?"

"Yes. However, this isn't what we intended. There may be impediments between this girl's body and the new power of the Nekomata placed in it. That may well be the reason for the manifestation of the Nekomata's appendages." He signalled for the girl to be picked up and taken away. "But as the third wished, she will become a great instrument of power for the Stone Country." The fourth shook his head clear and again looked at the scene before him. He turned to look at his followers. "Now," he commanded in an authoritative voice, much different to the voice he used before. It was the voice of a leader. "Let's get these bodies buried before sundown, and try to find out the girl's name and her background. There must be at least one person still alive in this village!"

"Ossu!" Came the cry as ninja spread out.

* * *

The white flap that served as a door to the tent was lifted as a young chuunin entered. He bowed in recognition to the fourth Tsuchikage. The man offered him a seat in front of him.

"Rosuto, have you any news?" The Tsuchikage sipped some tea and looked over his mission notes.

Hoshino Rosuto nodded. "We are nearly complete in burying the dead. We found a few that were barely alive. We're treating them in the spare tent."

The man glanced up. "Why aren't they in the main hospital tent?"

There was a small grimace on Rosuto's face. "All of them, they refused to be in the same tent as the child. The second they saw her, they went into fits. They would not calm down until we placed them elsewhere and reassured them they were safe."

"How horrible." remarked the Tsuchikage. "That a child could create such fear…" The Tsuchikage picked up a pen and made some changes to his report. 'She's the perfect weapon for the Hidden Stone…'

"Sir," Rosuto continued. "We retrieved the information you requested as well. The girl's name is Mitsukai Kita."

The Tsuchikage dropped the pen in his hand. "Mitsukai? Are you sure?"

Rosuto nodded. "That is the information we obtained."

The black-haired man clenched his fist. "This just got a lot more complicated… Rosuto," he looked up at his subordinate. "Tell me, have you ever heard of a man named Mitsukai Musei?"

Rosuto shook his head. "I'm afraid I have not Tsuchikage-sama."

The man replied with a flap of his hand. "That's okay Rosuto. You were still a student at the time and the file on him was classified. Musei was a missing-nin, a powerful one at that, S-Class, as classified in the handbook. His bloodline abilities created much fear among those who went after him. Hunter-nin after hunter-nin would be reported back as dead or missing after they dealt with him. Such was his legacy... He was once one of the best jounin the Stone had. When he deserted us, he must have come here and settled down, at least until he was finally killed last year by a group of hunter-nin working together."

"Tsuchikage-sama, what will we do with the girl then?" Rosuto asked.

"Keep strict watch over the girl and make sure she does not escape our control." The Tsuchikage picked his pen back up and tapped it on the desk. "For these purposes, she will have to have a constant guardian… Rosuto?"

Rosuto winced slightly. "Yes, Tsuchikage-sama?"

"I am assigning you to become her guardian."

"Yes, sir…"

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Man Called 'Leader' **

Kita opened her eyes slowly. "Mama?" Like a nightmare, memories of her mother being pierced with arrows flashed before her eyes. "Mama!" she cried out and bolted upright. Though the room was dark, the seven year-old could see a man that sat next to her bed. Kita glared at him with slitted eyes. "Were you one of the people who killed Mama? If you did…"

The man looked startled for a second, then sad. "You don't have to worry, Kita-chan, I had nothing to do with it."

Kita relaxed slightly with the knowledge. "Then who are you?"

"I am Hoshino Rosuto, I'm going to be looking after you from now on." Nervously, Rosuto reached a hand out and placed it on the child's head. "Everything's going to be okay."

Kita looked up at the man who now claimed to be her guardian. He had hair that was grey, despite his young age of sixteen. His eyes were black, but they had a kindness deep in them. His handsome face was marred by his nose, which had been broken and put out of place a long time ago. He wore his Stone forehead protector in the normal fashion. Kita blinked. Somehow this man reminded her of a memory from long ago, one of her father. He wasn't her father, but he reminded her of him. Kita's mouth twitched with a small smile as the man scratched her behind the ears. It was a pleasant feeling.

Rosuto smiled as she began to purr like a kitten. 'Maybe she won't be as bad as Tsuchikage-sama thinks she will be…'

* * *

The medical ninja pulled off his stethoscope. "All her injuries have healed, Rosuto. It should be okay to take her outside now." He sounded nervous.

"Are you ready to meet the leader of the Hidden Stone, Kita-chan?" Rosuto asked. It had been five days since he had met the child. He had stayed by her side almost all of that time. Rosuto hoped that Kita now trusted her. The child had been plagued by nightmares, her eyes showed the pain and anger she still held inside, though it had lessened as she had come to regard him as a friend.

"Yes, Rosuto-san." Kita nodded and jumped out of bed. She suddenly felt edgy as she exited the tent with Rosuto, something was bothering her. She paused after walking a few metres. She looked beside her, there was another tent nearby. Suddenly the flap of the tent opened. A man walked out and looked up at Kita. He stopped and started to quaver. Kita's eyes narrowed and her cat-like ears flattened. She turned so that she faced him entirely. "Murderer…" she hissed.

"Monster… Leave me alone!" Despite his bandages and injuries, the man started to run away.

Her eyes turned golden in colour and her pupils contracted into slits. A cruel smile played on Kita's face. She ran a pink tongue over her teeth. A chase… Before Rosuto could react, Kita was gone, pursuing after the terrified man. The man reached the far end of the camp before there was a horrible screech. Blood flew up into the air and splattered against the roofs of the pure white tents. People stared in horror at what they had just witnessed. Kita appeared back where she had been moments ago, but this time her hands were covered in blood. The claws extending from her fingers melted back into her normal fingernails. Kita looked smug as she licked the blood off of her hands. She licked them clean until no trace of the blood was left. She glanced back at the man she had killed. "Another for my collection…" she whispered. Her nose twitched as she smelt fear, the majority of it coming from the tent the man had exited before. She curiously strolled towards it.

"Kita-chan, no!"

Kita felt the air get knocked out of her as she was tackled to the ground. She blinked as her eyes faded back to their usual grey. "Rosuto-san?" she asked fearfully. What had just happened?

"Kita-chan, no more… Please no more!" Rosuto's eyes were wide with shock.

"No more what?" she asked.

Rosuto rocked back to sit on his knees. He held a hand to his forehead. "You don't remember?"

Kita started trembling as she looked to the side and saw a bloody body. "What happened to that man over there?"

"Rosuto! What is the meaning of this?!" A muscled, black-haired man appeared and towered over the two of them.

Rosuto quickly jumped up and bowed deeply. He spoke quickly and nervously. "I'm so sorry, Tsuchikage-sama! I didn't think she'd…"

"She's perfect…" The Tsuchikage smiled as he glanced at the body and thought. 'Though it seems the spirit of the Nekomata is partly merged within her own soul, hence her quick reaction to anger…'

"But, Tsuchikage-sama, you told me…" Rosuto stuttered.

"It is no matter. He was not one of our own, just one of the villagers. Now come, I would like to talk to Kita-chan some more." The Tsuchikage led them away from the scene into the largest of the tents and sat down behind a low desk. Rosuto calmed Kita down. The girl continued to tremble however. The Tsuchikage coughed. "Rosuto, why don't you introduce Kita-chan to me?"

"Oh, yes, of course, sir." Rosuto apologised. "Kita-chan, this is the fourth leader of the Hidden Village of Stone, Tsuchikage-sama."

Kita regained herself and bowed to the man. "It's… nice to meet you Tsuchikage-sama. Rosuto-san told me many wonderful things about you."

"Ah, good, good, I wouldn't have expected any less. Please, have a seat." He motioned for them to sit. "Kita-chan, can you tell me what your father was?"

Kita brightened up; a childish gleam appeared in her eyes. "Dad was a ninja! He was a really good one too!"

"Did he ever teach you anything about being a ninja?"

Kita frowned as she thought. "No…" The Tsuchikage seemed disappointed. "But," Kita continued. "I watched him train a lot! He didn't know I was watching though. But I remember a lot of what he did!" This seemed to satisfy the Tsuchikage. He nodded in approval.

"How would you like to become a ninja, Kita-chan?" he asked. 'Though she does have no choice in the matter anyway…' he thought as he said it.

"Could I?" The seven year-old asked eagerly.

"I would be proud to have you enrolled in the Hidden Stone's ninja academy. We will take you tomorrow." The Tsuchikage smiled. Only he knew the smile he gave was for false intentions…

* * *

**Chapter 3: Guardian **

"Are we there yet, Rosuto-san?" Kita bounced around in the cart.

Rosuto opened the back of the cart. "Look for yourself."

"Wow!" Kita gasped as she looked. They were entering a deep valley flanked by two towering cliffs. The rock walls were like a pair of hands, slightly hanging over and protecting the Hidden Village which extended as far as the eye could see. The village itself was more like a city; interesting shops lined the streets, fruit sellers yelled loudly to attract attention, and people sat in small cafes by the street and chattered. "Is this really where I'm going to live now?"

"Yep," Rosuto nodded, smiling from the girl's bubbly reactions to her new surroundings. He glanced at Kita's ears his smile faded. There was no way she was going to be accepted so easily in Hidden Stone, not the way she was.

Kita noticed her guardian's saddened expression. "Rosuto-san, what's wrong?" She jumped down to sit in front of him. Her cat ears twitched curiously. Kita felt them move and glanced at them. She placed her hands over her ears tightly. "It's these things isn't it?" She winced as she clenched her ears too tightly and let go. "I didn't always have these, did I? But it feels like they've always been there." She tilted her head at Rosuto.

"Kita-chan, you're special. That's why Tsuchikage-sama personally invited you to become a ninja here in the Hidden Stone. He and I understand you, but other people like the villagers, they don't. That's why I'm afraid of how the people here will react to you, especially your class mates." Rosuto felt it hard to try and explain. He didn't want to have to say that other children were quick to point out what was wrong with you.

Kita looked away from the sixteen year-old and back at the street that passed away behind them. A boy with red hair and her age crossed the street behind the cart. He glimpsed into the cart and stopped to stare at the girl with cat ears. Kita smiled at him. The boy stared for a second more before running off. Kita's smile faded. Suddenly she felt something being placed on her head and turned. Rosuto was tying a pink bandana over her head to cover her ears, though the bandana did look a little off when he was done.

"Maybe this will help." He commented and patted her on the head. "It suits you, you know." The cart stopped outside an apartment block. Rosuto hopped out and helped Kita down.

"Is this where you live?" asked the seven year-old.

Rosuto nodded and took her hand to lead her up the stairway. When they reached the top floor, he opened the door to his unit. The unit was one of a definite male teenager. Laundry was strewn throughout the unit, some of which hung on the ceiling fan. The kitchen looked like it had never been used for nothing more than heating up leftovers from take-away shops. A few dirty magazines lay scattered on a table. Rosuto gasped and jumped on them. Quickly he grabbed them up and chucked them into the bin. He turned back to Kita and laughed nervously. The girl blinked unsurely then ran into the unit.

"Where do I sleep?" she asked and ran around. She leapt onto the couch, dispelling most of the laundry on it as she bounced.

Rosuto scratched the back of his head and sighed. 'Why'd you have to put her with me Tsuchikage-sama? I don't know the first thing about looking after kids!'

"What are these?" asked Kita, pulling the dirty magazines out of the basket.

Rosuto leapt at her. "Put them back!" Kita giggled and ran away from his grasp.

'Why!? Why?!' Rosuto shook his fist at the ceiling as he chased the girl.

* * *

"Rosu-sama!" Kita landed on her guardian's chest, knocking the wind out of him and jolting him awake.

Rosuto coughed and sat up. His eyesight focussed until he saw Kita sitting on his lap. She bounced happily.

"Today's the day! Today's the day!" she grinned.

It had been two weeks since Kita had come to Hidden Stone with him. With the formalities over, Kita now treated him like her best friend, giving him the nickname of 'Rosu-sama'. Rosuto smiled and patted Kita on the head, giving her a gentle scratch behind the ears. Kita suddenly slipped into her more cat-like personality and purred, nuzzling his hand with her cheek. "It is today, isn't it Koneko-chan?" Rosuto remarked using the nickname he had given Kita.

"Come on Rosu-sama! I want to get going! Ninja school won't wait!" Kita leapt off the bed and over to the mirror. She carefully tied her pink bandana on.

Rosuto watched her with a small smile, thinking how cute she was. Looking after her hadn't been very hard at all. If anything, it was like he owned a pet cat.

"Rosu-sama!" Kita yelled. She was at the door, ready to go.

"I'm coming!" Rosuto sighed and ran into the bathroom. He emerged several seconds later, somehow haven gotten his clothes on, brushed his hair and brushed his teeth.

Kita smiled at her guardian. He had made her feel safe and welcome when nobody else had. He understood her in ways others didn't. He was there to listen to her and comfort her. He was like the father she had lost a year ago… As Rosuto neared Kita ran to him and squeezed him tight around the legs.

"Are you ready, Koneko-chan?" Rosuto patted her on the head. Taking the child's hand in his own, he led her out the door to take her to her first day at the Ninja Academy.

* * *

"Rosuto-san?"

Rosuto looked up at Kita's teacher. He had been waiting in the hallway of the academy for Kita, which seemed mysteriously empty. "Yes?" he asked, wondering what was going on.

"Uh, I just want to talk to you about Kita-chan…" The tall, brown-haired teacher walked back into the classroom and sat at his desk.

Rosuto followed him and noticed Kita sitting on one of the tables up the back. She was staring up at a moth that fluttered around one of the lights. Her ears twitched curiously. Rosuto's realised her bandana was gone. He spun around to the teacher. "What happened? Where's Kita's bandana?"

The teacher sighed. "We had a small incident today, Rosuto-san. One of the other students stole Kita-chan's bandana while they were out playing. Needless to say, the students got quite a shock when they saw… Kita-chan went hysterical when they got over the shock and started teasing her."

Rosuto gulped. "Nothing… bad happened did it?"

"Thankfully no… She just ran up a tree and hid for the rest of the day. But I know what she's capable of, Rosuto-san. I was there that day too…" The teacher placed his elbows on the table and knitted his fingers together. "We sent the students home early as a precaution. I have had word with the Tsuchikage and he agrees with me, Kita-chan should be trained away from the academy. The students would only continue to tease her if she continued here. It could push her over the edge."

Rosuto nodded sadly. "I understand. I guess I will have to become her teacher as well now?"

"That is what the Tsuchikage suggested." The teacher nodded as well.

"As the Tsuchikage wishes then…" Rosuto turned and walked towards the tables. "Kita, we're going."

The girl's ears swivelled around at the sound of his voice. She smiled and jumped off the table and into his arms. Rosuto carried her out.

"Aren't I going to the academy anymore Rosu-sama?" Kita tilted her head at her guardian as they walked.

"You won't be going back there for quite a while Kita. But don't worry," he patted her on the head. "I'm going to be your teacher now."

Kita grinned and jumped happily. "Rosu-sama is going to be my shishou!"

"Yeah… seems so…" he replied slowly.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Lost **

Three months it had been now since Kita had come to be under Rosuto's care. The guardian of the Nekomata-child watched as she performed a _Kage Bushin no Jutsu_, producing five perfect clones. 'She's come such a long way in such short a time…' he remarked to himself.

"How was that, Rosu-sama?" asked all five of the Kita clones at once before disappearing into puffs of smoke and leaving just one Kita.

"Perfect!" Rosuto gave her thumbs up.

Kita ran over to him and grinned. "I heard that at the academy, they haven't even reached making one perfect clone yet! That must mean you're a really good teacher, Rosu-sama!"

"Maybe…" Rosuto scratched the back of his neck and smiled embarrassingly. 'Or it could just mean that the Nekomata's power is helping you.' He thought.

"Rosu-sama, I want to show you something I made!" Kita clapped her hands together in front of her.

Her guardian blinked and looked down at her. "When have you had time to work on something?"

"I don't sleep much at night, so I have plenty of time when you're asleep!" Kita explained. "Do you wanna see or not?" she asked.

"Alright, I'd like to see it."

"Yay!" Kita cheered and leapt back into the middle of the field. Breathing slowly, Kita grasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

'This will be interesting.' Rosuto smiled and thought. 'Maybe she made a variation to the _Kage Bushin_? That'd be…' Rosuto's smiled dropped as the blue sky above him faded into black and the sun dimmed. The grass in the field wilted and turned black like the sky. Dark red clouds flew backwards like a video on rewind.

'_Oujou…_' A high-pitched hiss whispered on the wind.

Rosuto felt his feet become wet and looked down. Blood bubbled up from the dirt, soaking it. "Kita…" His eyes widened as he turned his gaze back to the girl. Whispery, white forms surrounded her. From the forms, faces emerged. On each face there was a look of shear horror and pain. "Spirits of the dead…" whispered Rosuto on the verge of terror. The ghosts limped towards Rosuto, their eyes wide orbs of nothingness. The chuunin gasped as he recognised one of the faces of the spirits. It was of the man Kita had killed at the camp. Rosuto stepped back as they approached. "Get back!" he yelled and pulled out a few kunai. Just as their faded forms reached the Stone ninja, they dissipated into the air. The sky turned back into its cheery blue. The grass, however, stayed black and wilted, a sign that death had been there.

"Rosu-sama! Did you see?! That's the first time I've been able to make it work so well and… Rosu-sama? Are you okay?" Kita tugged on her guardian's arm.

Rosuto stared ahead, still in shock. The kunai in his hands fell to the ground as he turned to Kita. Suddenly he squatted down to her height and grabbed her arms. "Kita, don't you ever, ever, use that jutsu again. Do you hear me Kita?" His voice was authoritative and angry.

"Did I do something wrong?" Kita asked, wondering what had made him act this way.

"No…" Rosuto dropped his grip, but continued to stare her in the eyes. "But you heard me, right? Don't ever use that ever again." He frowned. 'That voice… that wasn't her voice…'

"Alright, Rosuto-sama…" Kita nodded sadly. "I just wanted to make you proud that I did something by myself."

"I'm very proud, Kita. But that… what you just did, you should never use it ever again, except in an emergency and your life depends on it. Okay?" The chuunin stared up into her grey eyes.

"Okay…" Kita turned away. 'I thought you'd be happy… the voice told me it would make a big impression on you… I guess I took it the wrong way…'

* * *

"Then what did you do, Rosu-sama?" Kita bounced up and down on the bed as her guardian told her a story about a mission he had done once.

Rosuto grinned. "And then I pulled out my shuriken and threw it as hard as I could, and then…" There was a knock at the door. Rosuto walked over to the entryway and opened it. Kita tilted her head as a masked man whispered something in Rosuto's ear and suddenly disappeared. Rosuto looked back at Kita. "I'll have to continue another time, Koneko-chan. The Tsuchikage wants to see me."

"Aww," Kita pouted. "But I want to hear the end of the story!"

"You will, I just need to go for a little while. I'll be right back!" Rosuto waved and ran out the door. 'What does he want to see me for this time?' he thought concernedly as he exited the apartment building and ran down the street. 'The ANBU guy said it was urgent…'

A few minutes later, Rosuto was running up the stairway to the Tsuchikage's office. He halted as he reached it and wiped his brow. Taking a deep breath, he entered.

"Have a seat, Rosuto." The large chair of the Tsuchikage was turned towards the window. Rosuto took a seat before the desk and the chair spun around, revealing the black-haired man. "Rosuto, we're sending Kita in."

"In?" asked Rosuto. His eyebrow twitched.

"We're sending her to the front line of the war with the Cloud. She will be of excellent use there."

"But… she's only a little girl still!" Rosuto exclaimed. "She's not ready to participate in a war!"

The Tsuchikage placed his hands on the table and pushed out his chair. Standing up, the Tsuchikage walked over to Rosuto and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I have heard some reports of her training time with you. It seems she called on the souls of those she had killed at the village. Am I right?"

Though he didn't want to confirm it, Rosuto nodded anyway.

"It is true then… Then I am right to think that my plans for her will work. With the Nekomata's strength, we will crush the Cloud." The Tsuchikage stared out the window and nodded, lost in a daydream of splendour. "Rosuto," he said suddenly, snapping out of his dreams. "Prepare Kita to move out tomorrow morning."

"Yes… sir…" Rosuto nodded and left. As he shut the door, he started to run.

Back in the Tsuchikage's office, the Tsuchikage frowned. The masked man that had been at Kita and Rosuto's unit emerged from the shadows in the corner. The Tsuchikage looked at the door. "Send a team of chuunin after him. . Makes sure he does nothing wrong."

* * *

The blood-red afternoon sun faded into a starless night as Rosuto reached his unit. Flinging the door open he grabbed his young charge and ran out to the balcony and leapt up onto the roof.

"Rosu-sama, where are we going?" Kita yawned. She had been napping.

"We're just going." Rosuto replied. "We're getting out of here. I won't let you be used for the Stone's evil purposes any longer. We're going to leave the country, go somewhere else where they can't get us. It'll be just you and me, Koneko-chan." Rosuto gritted his teeth and jumped onto the next roof.

"That… sounds fun." Kita yawned again.

Suddenly Rosuto skidded to a stop. Two chuunin stood on the far edge of the building. They were dark silhouettes against the pale moon.

"Hoshino Rosuto, you are under arrest for the desertion of your duties, as ordered by Tsuchikage-sama." One of them twirled a kunai on his finger as he spoke.

Rosuto's eyes narrowed. "You will let me pass. I'm getting out of here with Kita. The Tsuchikage is mad. His greed and lust for power will destroy us all."

"Silence! Do not speak ill of the Honourable Tsuchikage!" ordered a female chuunin in a strong voice. "You will die here for your insolence!" She smiled and glanced up above the two companions.

Suddenly a trickle of blood dribbled out from the corner of Rosuto's mouth. His eyes grew full of fear as he fell to the ground, his back riddled with shuriken and kunai. Blood started to cover the ground around him.

"Rosu-sama!" Kita cried out and fell onto her knees beside them. Another two chuunin landed on the edge behind them and stood up.

"Kita…" Rosuto coughed, tilting his head towards her. Painfully he dug around in his pocket before placing his hand in Kita's.

"Rosu-sama… please don't leave me!" She held his hand fearfully.

Rosuto attempted a shaky smile. "Sorry Kita… and I meant to give you this later… But now…" he laughed grimly, then coughed again, spitting up blood. "I loved being with you, Kita. I just... wish I could have protected you better… Stay strong… Stay strong… my Koneko-chan…" his voice trailed away. Kita knew he was gone. And with him, a piece of Kita went too.

Opening her hand, Kita saw the gift Rosuto had left her with; a silver necklace with a paw-shaped locket on the end. Kita slowly opened it and felt hot tears start to stream down her face as she saw the picture in it, of her and her guardian, laughing happily and eating ice cream. That memory seemed so far away now.

"Kita-chan, you will be escorted back to the Tsuchikage as with his wishes." The female chuunin informed her and started to approach. Kita stood up, still looking down at the young man she had thought of as both a big brother and father. Placing the necklace around her neck, her arms dropped and her gaze flickered to all the chuunin. The female chuunin hesitated.

"I'll kill you all for what you did." She hissed, her head suddenly snapping up to the two behind her. Long claws sprouted out from her fingernails and fangs slid down over her bottom lip. Her eyes flashed golden and deadly.

The female chuunin jumped back and looked at her fellow members. "The Tsuchikage told us not to hurt her, remember, but be cau…" Her voice halted as one of the chuunin across from her fell onto the ground. Kita was on his back, her fangs embedded in the man's neck. There was a sickening crunch as Kita broke the fallen man's spine. She glanced up at the man next to her. He stumbled backwards and threw a kunai at her. She ducked and let the weapon sail over her head.

"Too slow…" she smirked and leapt at the man, raking her claws over his face. The man shrieked in pain and covered his face. Kita pushed him to the ground. "How do you like that, huh?" she licked some of the blood off of his hands before slitting his throat.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" yelled the last man alive. The female was nowhere to be seen. Five shadow clones ran to surround Kita. Kita observed them closely. "Give up!" shouted the clones together. "I've got you surrounded." The clones started to perform hand seals. "_Kanashibari no Jutsu_!"

Kita felt her body freeze up. Her mind started to go dizzy and illusions of her death flashed past her eyes. 'No, I can't stop, not here…' she growled in her mind.

'Pitiful… And I thought you were stronger than this…' hissed a cold voice in her head. 'Maybe I should just take away the wonderful gifts I gave you?'

'No, I will kill him. I want his blood.' Kita hissed back.

'Good… go get it then.' commanded the cold voice.

Kita stared up at the night sky, her eyes wide. Fighting back, she broke free of her paralysation and leapt at the clones. The shadow clones dissipated in puffs of smoke as Kita attacked them, leaving only the real body left. The male chuunin gritted his teeth as his technique was destroyed. Quickly he started another chain of hand seals. "_Dorohane Yobouchuusha_!" From his mouth, the chuunin shot out balls of hardened mud that flew like bullets towards Kita.

Kita casually slashed the mud balls apart with her claws. Her ears turned back as she stared up at the man. Within a few short seconds he was dead, his corpse fell off the roof onto the street below. Kita gave a purr of content and put the tip of her finger on her tongue. "Fear only makes the blood sweeter." She mused, sucking off the blood.

The other voice inside her purred also. 'Well done, you are much better than I thought. But they were only lower-class ninja, and you know what you want to do.'

'Yes…' Kita's eyes narrowed as she thought and glanced at Rosuto's lifeless body. His death was not revenged fully yet. Her ears twitched as she heard the presence of other people. A large squad of ANBU leapt onto the roof, surrounding her. Their faces were covered by masks, but Kita could tell that most of them were uneasy.

From behind the ring of ANBU, the female chuunin appeared. "You will be coming with us, Kita-chan, and we will harm you if you retaliate. Give up now and come peacefully."

Kita smiled darkly, making the chuunin nervous, and then suddenly raised her hands up. "Alright, you got me. I'll come quietly." The fangs and claws melted away. Her eyes turned back to their normal grey colour.

"Good, you made the right decision." The chuunin said, her confident voice returning.

'You don't know how right you are…' Kita thought slyly.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Imprisonment **

"We lost three of the chuunin you sent after her, Tsuchikage-sama." reported an ANBU to the Stone Kage.

The Tsuchikage stood in his office, staring up at the moon. He seemed to be in a daydream, only half-listening. "Sad, yes, very sad… Send our condolences to their families along with a bravery medal."

"Sir, I would like to know why you sent a team of chuunin and not the ANBU straight up… It would have been compli…" The ANBU fell silent as his master turned around to glare at him. The ANBU bowed. "I am deeply sorry, Tsuchikage-sama, for questioning your wisdom… I will not do it again."

"Good. I do not want to have you executed for your insubordination." He ignored the other man's flinch and flipped through the report handed to him. "Amazing… she did all this through hand-to-hand combat…" He glanced up at the ANBU and sat down at his desk. "Do you know what they used to say about the Mitsukai clan?"

"No, sir… I do not?" The ANBU asked curiously.

"They said that the reason it was so hard to kill a Mitsukai clan member because the first member of that clan struck a deal with Death himself. In return for amazing abilities, the clan member, at the end of their life, would become his slave to do his bidding. That is why the clan was also known as 'The Angels of Death'… Even without the Nekomata, Kita would still be a monster. When she starts to understand her bloodline, she will become one of the strongest and most feared ninja in the world. She will be a great weapon for the Stone." The Tsuchikage smiled. Suddenly he stood up, his voice becoming more business-like. "Where is she at the moment?"

The ANBU straightened up his posture as the Tsuchikage became authoritative again. "We have her locked up in one of the underground cells, sir. We secured the walls and the door with sealing tags so she cannot get out."

"I will come see her then. There is something I have to do."

* * *

The prison cell was horrible. There was nothing inside it apart from a wooden plank that served as a bed, a toilet and a tiny basin with a dirty mirror over the top. The walls were dark and moist, as was the floor that was covered in small lumps of moss in places. The front of the cell was unlike the others with a wall instead of open bars. Only the door was made of bars, and they were placed well together. Kita waited, knowing he would come, and surely enough he did. She kept her hand around the locket Rosuto had given her until she smelt the one she wanted come outside the clustered bars. Kita pricked her ears forward but there was no sound. She guessed there must have been sealing tags on the outside… Suddenly the door opened and a team of ANBU entered along with the Tsuchikage. He gave Kita a slight smile before he clicked his fingers and the ANBU leapt on her. Kita growled and tried to struggle back, but there were too many of them as they restrained her with chains. A blindfold was whipped around her eyes. A strange smell entered her nose suddenly and made Kita woozy. Before she knew it, she was out cold.

* * *

'Bah, you're still not strong enough.' the cold voice in the back of Kita's mind sneered.

Kita opened her eyes slowly. She was in a system of underground tunnels. There were strange sounds echoing around her, almost like far away talking. No matter how much she strained, she couldn't hear them. That was when she realised there was something missing. Slowly she raised her hands up to her ears. They were small and round. They were human.

'In here you are yourself.' commented the voice. 'You and I are separate spirits on the inside.' Kita turned around to face the voice and almost fell over. Before her was a giant black cat with silver markings. Its large yellow eyes stared down at her and its two tails twitched. 'I am Nibi, the Nekomata.'

Kita was confused by its presence. Though she knew she should have been scared, she felt comforted by it. She noticed its feet were constricted by four chains. 'So you're the one who made me like this…'

The cat seemed to chuckle. 'Yes, I guess so. But see these chains around my lovely paws?' The cat rattled them. 'That is your will that is keeping them there.'

'So,' Kita thought out loud. 'If I wanted… I could free you?'

'No,' the Nekomata's eyes narrowed. 'The last Tsuchikage placed a seal on me that will not let me leave. The chains are a representation of our separate chakra strengths and individual spirits. If you were to loosen the chains further, your spirit would decay until my chakra would flow out at its total strength and kill us both.'

Kita ran a hand over her ear. 'But, if we're separate spirits… how come…?'

The cat interrupted her by jingling one of the chains on its leg. Kita noticed that it seemed looser than the others. 'And that is just partly loose. So child, unless you wish for us both to die, never take off all the shackles.' Kita nodded and glimpsed past the Nekomata into the darkness behind it. The Nekomata hissed suddenly and moved to block her view. 'Do not look there. You would not understand…' The cat's ears twitched. 'It is time you were going.'

* * *

A blistering pain erupted on Kita's neck and she screamed. Her eyes flew open and she tried to sit up, which proved impossible with metal bands binding her hands and feet. She struggled against them, getting nowhere. The burning sensation on her neck subsided to a dull throbbing.

"Well it seems like it works, the third was a genius for inventing this." There was a familiar voice and Kita glared up at the Tsuchikage. The Stone Kage smirked at her. "You're awake, Kita. Good." He chuckled. "I have a present for you."

"Sounds lovely…" Kita's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Don't be like that now. What I just gave you will be a great help. To me at least…" He held up a mirror for her to look in. Around her neck was a strange set of symbols that ran along in a line. At the base of her neck at the front was the Hidden Stone's symbol. Kita felt like it was some kind of sick necklace. She spat at the mirror before suddenly the horrible pain from before shot through her. "Uh-uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you." The Tsuchikage kept the mirror up close to Kita's face so she couldn't avoid the sight of the symbols.

"What is this exactly?" she asked coldly.

"A special seal that binds your fate to mine, it's quite ingenious really. So if I die, you will too. That was the original design by the third Tsuchikage. I've added something extra, however. When I want to, I can cause deep pain to your body. What you felt before was just the tip of the iceberg. So, unless you become my ninja tool, you will feel like your body is being ripped apart from the inside. You'll even start to beg me for the comfort of death. Well, what do you say?" He raised an eyebrow.

Kita gritted her teeth. What should she do? The answer came to her after a minute's thought. She stared at the Tsuchikage deeply to make sure he would listen to every word she said. "I'll be your 'ninja tool', Tsuchikage-sama. But I will tell you this; it is my dream now to kill you. It does not matter that I will die too. I will avenge what you did to Rosuto-sama. I may not be strong enough to kill you now, but eventually I will have your blood on my hands. And I'll feel no regret, nothing. I'll be able to die happy."

The Tsuchikage laughed mockingly. "You will never be able to surpass me. Forever you'll be in my shadow, working under my command until you die. Now, I think you deserve some time alone." He clicked his fingers again and the ANBU appeared to throw her back in the cell.

* * *

**Chapter 6: A Cruel Place **

Three days later, a food tray appeared in her cell. Kita eyed it hungrily and crawled over to it. She was starving. The tray slipped back outside as she was about to pick up a piece of bread. Kita's hand shook in mid-air as the Tsuchikage stood at her door with the tray in his hands.

"If you want this, then you'll have to work for it. I have an assignment for you. You will join a gennin team and go hunt down a group of bandits. I'm giving you an easy assignment this time, but only because it's your first time." He unlocked the door to let her out. "Go to the second floor to meet your team. If I hear of any problems, you know what will happen."

Kita shot the Tsuchikage a dirty look before walking out.

* * *

Two days later a blood soaked Kita was returned to the Tsuchikage, held tightly by a pair of ANBU. The man's eyebrow twitched furiously as he sent waves of pain through Kita's young body. The girl tried not to scream as she endured the ferocious pain. The Hidden Stone leader grabbed her neck and wrenched her face up to look at him. "I said if I heard of any problems you'd know what would happen. And here you've returned to me with their blood soaked all over you and no evidence that you completed the mission!"

"I tried to save them! I didn't kill them!" Kita retorted. "And we were ambushed by them! They had heard we were coming and they hired a missing-nin to help them! The others had sent me to scout behind them, so that by the time I reached them, they were all dead and the bandits had taken off!" She took a deep breath after her argument. In a low voice she growled at the Tsuchikage. "If anything, it's your fault for sending underqualified ninja. Just like how you sent those chuunin after me…" The seal's pain shot through her once more. Kita tried to ignore it, but found it impossible. It was like she couldn't breathe.

"Lies!" the Tsuchikage roared. He let go of her and turned his back. "Send her back to her cell. I'll be back for her in three days."

The ANBU dragged her off.

* * *

Kita slammed her fist against the wall as she was placed back in her cell. The prickles on the hard rock bit into her hand. 'It's not fair! It wasn't me who killed them. For once it wasn't me… If anything, I tried to save them.' Kita placed her forehead against the wall, thinking back to the mission. The other members of the team didn't trust her. 'Of course they didn't trust me… They heard the stories. That's why they sent me to scout behind them, so I didn't have to go near them. If they hadn't, they wouldn't be dead… And all that wouldn't have happened.'

'The world's a cruel place, Koneko-chan.' The Nekomata said with an indifferent tone.

'Don't call me that,' Kita replied back, sounding tired suddenly. 'Only Rosu-sama can.' She fingered the silver necklace lightly.

'But who else have you got now apart from me? I'm the only one you can trust.' The cat was right. 'There's no use dwelling on the past.'

Kita sighed. 'You're right, Rosu-sama's gone and I'll never see him again. But… that doesn't mean I can't give up my dream just yet.'

'You made a promise to the Tsuchikage, yes.' The Nekomata nodded, and then grumbled. 'You haven't eaten very much over the past five days.'

Kita felt her stomach growl as the Nekomata mentioned food. 'Only what I managed to get off of the dead gennin…' There was a tiny pang of guilt as she said it.

'It is not like they needed it.' The cat replied. Kita knew it was rolling its eyes at her. 'Child, if you intend to kill the Tsuchikage, you must learn that emotion is only a blockade that will get in the way. You must never feel guilt or regret for what you do.'

Removing herself from the wall, Kita slumped down onto the board that served as her bed. 'It's easier when you help me to do things. I couldn't have killed all those people before myself…'

'I will not be more hospitable in the future. You must teach yourself to overcome the weakness of your emotions. It is the only way.' The cat placed a stress on the words 'is' and 'only'.

The seven year old nodded. Her dream and promise must live on. Her thoughts were interrupted by a growling stomach again. Quietly, Kita pulled out some rations from her pocket and nibbled on them. "I will become stronger…" she whispered into the darkness.

* * *

The Tsuchikage came back in three days, just like he had said. Before opening the cell door, he sent waves of scorching pain soaring through Kita's body. She resisted the begging urge she had to ask him to stop. The pain stopped and a piece of raw meat landed on the cell floor. Kita jumped on it and started to eat. She didn't care that it was raw. It was food and that was all to it. When she finished she heard the cell door open. Warily, she exited to stand before the Tsuchikage. He handed her a small book and an ANBU mask.

The man spoke gruffly and shortly. "Page twenty-one: four days, wear the mask at all times, and bring back evidence."

He left, leaving Kita alone in the underground cavern. She opened the book and flipped it to page twenty-one. 'Kashuno Dai, C-rank missing-nin, specialises in swords.' Kita frowned. 'It doesn't make sense…'

'What doesn't?' The Nekomata yawned.

'He sends out all these underqualified ninja, but then suddenly he sends me out to take care of a simple C-rank missing-nin.' Kita scratched one of her cat ears, which flickered.

'Who cares, just go finish the mission.' The cat yawned again.

'Alright...' Kita placed the cat-faced mask on and slipped the bingo book into her pocket before running up the stairs.

The villagers of Hidden Stone avoided her as she ran through the street. Most of them didn't even recognise it was her with the mask on. The cat ears must have looked like it was part of it. Still, she felt edgy with them around and leapt up a ladder to the roof of a building and continued from there until she reached the end of the canyon. Kita took out her bingo book and checked it for information on Kashuno Dai's whereabouts. Underneath in someone's scribbled writing was a note saying he had been last seen south near a small mountain village. The village was near where Kita had been days ago when the team was killed. Kita wondered briefly if there was a connection, and then set off.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Security **

With a strange thud, a bag landed on the Tsuchikage's desk. A small amount of red liquid leaked onto the wood. The Tsuchikage eyed it suspiciously.

"I brought you proof, just like you wanted. And here is something else in case you aren't satisfied." Kita stuck a bloodied katakana into the desk next to the suspicious bag. "In case you were wondering, he was the one who killed the gennin, not me. Though I doubt you will believe me..." Her reply came with a short bout of pain from her neck.

"You should have better manners when you're before me, Kita. I congratulate you on your first successful mission, though." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he praised her. "I have another mission for you now."

"What?" Kita asked, and then stopped herself before she got into trouble.

"No rest for the wicked, I'm afraid. And you have been a naughty kitty, haven't you?" he said haughtily. "Page thirteen; three days, and again, wear the mask at all times and bring back evidence. This time the whole body and not just… this..." He glanced at the bag. "Go."

Muttering under her breath, Kita left to read the booklet on top of the building. She flipped to page thirteen. 'Again… another C-rank missing-nin… It's almost like overkill. This still doesn't make sense. Hey, Nekomata-sama, why is he giving me such easy missions when I could be doing better?' This was the first time she had addressed the tailed beast by its name.

'-sama?' The cat repeated and then gave something that sounded like it was half-purring, half-laughing. 'How respectful of you. But then again, I am so much more respectable than that man who calls himself a leader. Ah, isn't it simple child? The Tsuchikage is killing off those not worthy. A man like that who lusts for power will rid himself of the inadequate and then keep a tight circle of loyal followers that will keep him in power. Thus raising the overall power of the village's strength and making sure that he has very good protection from those who try to overthrow him.'

'So he sends me off to take care of the little jobs so that he can send those ones he thinks are worthless into battles which they won't come out of alive?'

'Exactly. The man has made a very fool-proof plan. And with you as his main player, he protects himself from internal turmoil.' The Nekomata added and then nodded. 'You are still young, so I will not scold you for your lack of knowledge.' It laughed. 'Time will fix that. Speaking of which, I have a plan of my own.'

Kita listened intently. 'Yeah?'

'You have three days, yes?' Kita confirmed the time to it. 'A C-rank ninja is no trouble for you. So you can find the person and then quickly finish it. With the remaining time, you can spend it training. The Tsuchikage will not suspect a thing if you do it correctly.'

Kita smirked. 'Thank you, Nekomata-sama. You are very wise.'

'Koneko-chan, we have a long way to go, so let us begin.' For once Kita did not correct it for using her special nickname.

* * *

Kita crouched low to the ground and let the shuriken fly overhead. The missing-nin's skills were laughable. Another set of shuriken flew towards her new position. With the grace of a cat, she leapt and cart-wheeled out of the way, then threw her own set of shuriken. The missing-nin dodged, receiving a few nicks on her arm.

"Stupid kid!" she yelled angrily, pulling out more shuriken. "There's no way you can beat-" Her words were cut short as a kunai landed in her throat. She gasped for air before landing onto the hard ground. The birds in the forest grew silent, knowing what had just passed.

Kita walked over to the woman, looking down at her and shaking her head in pity. She took off her mask. "Your anger made you lose concentration. When fighting against me, you shouldn't have let it get the better of you." Kita placed her foot on the kunai and pushed it in, ending the woman's life instantly.

'Place your hand over her heart for a second, Koneko-chan. There's something I need to do.'

Kita did as the cat asked and held her hand above the dead woman's heart. There was a tiny wisp of silver, then nothing. 'You asked me to do that to the last one too.' Kita commented. 'Why?'

'I will tell you in due time.' The cat replied, almost snapping at her. 'We need to preserve the body now.'

'How come?' Kita asked.

'Obviously the Tsuchikage will have medical ninja check to see when the ninja died. We do not want him to find out, especially since we are going to train for the remaining two days.'

Kita felt slightly panic stricken. 'What do we do then, Nekomata-sama?'

The cat purred. 'Keep the body 'alive'. We do this by getting blood and oxygen to continue circulating around the body and by keeping the chakra supply burning. Until the time is right to let it 'die' again. Koneko-chan, I need you to perform a special set of hand seals for a jutsu. I realise you have very little control of chakra, so I will help you. This will be the first and last time however. If you want to continue training, you will have to do it yourself.'

The great beast sent images of the hand seals to Kita. 'How do you know this jutsu, Nekomata-sama?' Kita asked curiously.

The cat snickered lightly. 'You are like a kitten, so very curious about the world around you… For a time I was very interested in human jutsu. I spied on ninja teams whilst they fought in wars. One of the teams I trailed had a very well trained medical ninja. He was skilled in medical jutsu and used the bodies of the dead to cause diversions. We will do a jutsu I learned from him. Now, perform the seals over the body.'

Kita went through the seals in her mind once more before performing them over the body. She felt a surge of chakra leave her body and leap into the corpse of the woman she had killed. The body gave a slight jump before it settled again. 'We can train now?' Kita asked.

'Yes. I will teach you from now on. Today we work on using your own chakra. I know you can use skills like the shadow clone, but that doesn't mean you have proper chakra control. You need to learn how to produce the right amount. Since I am with you and you have some access to my jutsu, there will be many ninjutsu and genjutsu where precise amounts will not matter, but when using jutsu like the medical justu we just did, you have to create a precise amount or else the jutsu will fail.' The cat looked through Kita's eyes to observe their forest location and used her nose to smell out a nearby river. 'Today we will learn tree climbing. If you can master that today, then we will move onto water walking, which is much harder. You will have one day for that. On the third day, we will remove the justu on the body and take it back to the man.'

Kita looked up at the sky, hoping that Rosuto was watching her grow strong.

* * *

* * *

**And that's all I wrote! Thanks for reading and I hope to see you next time! **


	51. Checkmate

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Apologies to my beta Clark for not sending this for checking first... I've been having computer problems and all that. I was supposed to have gotten my new computer back on the 12th (my birthday), but the stupid computer store has been messing around with me. Anyway, here's the new chapter.

* * *

**_Chapter 51: Checkmate _**

Kita glanced up and down the street searching for signs. The air was cold and crisp in the morning and the sky was tinted with the signs of sunrise. Kita's ears swivelled as she picked up the sleepy chirps of birds in their trees just waking up before the dawn. Despite being in a strange place, the girl took a deep breath through her nose, feeling peaceful with the empty streets and her footsteps echoing slightly against the wall ahead.

_I have to find some sort of guard station..._ Kita thought, looking up and down the length of the wall as she approached the end of the street and to an intersection. She spotted it a little ways down. _And then a tree... ah, there! _

She walked towards a long bench next to a raised garden. A leafy tree leaned over the bench, casting long branches overhead.

_Nobody's here yet... what a great start to the day._

Grumbling about having to be kept waiting, Kita plonked down onto the seat... and waited... and waited...

_Maybe I'm just early though? _she thought, looking around.

Her ears twitched as she turned and saw a teenaged boy standing behind her near the raised garden. His face – no, his whole body – was completely still. Even his straight-faced expression didn't even move- only to blink occasionally.

"Uh... hello?" asked Kita, giving the teenager a good look-over. It was hard to see his eyes from underneath the spiky auburn hair and the dull green hitae-ate that was nearly covering his eyes. Kita could just see a glimpse of bright green irises underneath.

His outfit seemed sensible enough for a ninja- a dull green jacket trimmed with brown fur and sporting a lighter green cross-shape that ran down the zipper and around the middle. Somehow, the boy had placed his gloves clad with buckles over the top of his jacket sleeves so that fur poked out from a couple of holes near the wrist. His pants were a darker green, though with some kind of belt and buckle wrapped around the calves of the legs. He had chosen not to wear standard ninja sandals, instead opting for a pair of black sneakers with an art-deco type of design on them.

But the strangest thing that drew Kita's attention was the three small red triangles tattooed on the boy's left cheek under his eye.

The boy suddenly bowed elegantly, a smile moving over his face. "You must be Mitsukai-san, I presume. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"How long were you... uh, never mind." Kita flinched, feeling stupid at herself and wondering why she hadn't noticed him sooner. She stood up and bowed as well, remembering to stay polite. "And it is a pleasure to meet you...?"

"Please, you don't have to stand up for me." The older boy's smile instantly dissolved back into a straight-face look. "I am Sencha Arata." He fell silent and returned back to his original still stance.

_What's with this guy? _Kita asked herself, feeling a little awkward. Her awkwardness only grew as the pair waited in complete silence. The town slowly began to spring to life before them- carts of fresh food arrived and shops opened. People began to crowd the street as they bustled to get today's produce. Kita's mouth watered when she caught the smell of fresh fish- until she remembered how much she hated seafood that was.

Also, her view of the markets was abruptly cut off by a body standing before her. Kita squinted as she looked up, the person's face in shadow for a second while the sun shone behind. But they seemed to be staring down at her too.

The boy leaned back up to his full height, giving Kita a better look at him. He seemed to be the same age as the other guy, around fifteen or so. He had light blond hair, bordering on white, though the roots of his hair were a dark brown. His dark blue eyes narrowed as he looked down his nose at her and gave a disgusted look.

"They sent us _another_ girl?"

"What?" Kita's brow twitched. "What's wrong with that?"

She gave the boy another look up and down as the boy stepped back further. He wore a fishnet shirt with short sleeves, though the things seemed a little small for him since it didn't cover his entire midriff. Over the top, he wore a long jacket with a high collar. The black of it was interrupted by a white checker design running along the bottom, as well as coating the inside of it, making an interesting, yet slightly confusing look. He also wore a chequered wrist band on his right arm.

And though it seemed a proper combination, his red pants and hitae-ate worn in the usual fashion seemed to clash, furthering the confusing design. Kita glanced down at his feet, almost expecting more checkers, but finding a pair of sturdy white boots.

Her gaze went back to meet the older boy's eyes, but she found herself staring at a series of blue dots that ran under the boy's right eye, and just over the bridge of his nose.

"Because girls are weak," jeered the boy, grabbing Kita's attention back.

"I am _not_ weak," Kita retorted back, her hands balling into fists.

The boy gave a snort. "Yeah sure, that's what they all say." He prodded her in the shoulder with a finger.

Kita's ears flattened. "Who the hell..."

The boy's head suddenly jerked upwards to the tree. The frowning expression he had been giving Kita changed somehow, into one that seemed more peeved than infuriated. "How long have you been up there, Katsuro-sensei?"

"Eh, since last night... I'm nearly finished on this latest level."

Kita whirled around and stared up into the tree above them. A man in a jounin jacket sat high in the branches hunched over some kind of game device.

_How... All night? But I didn't even notice him..._ Kita thought with a feeling of shock. She continued to observe the man who stared intently at the game screen, barely even seeming to breathe. _He's so immersed in whatever he's doing that he's barely active... and... this guy is a shinobi? _She glanced over at the first boy, Arata- he was still standing in his strange stance that seemed a little creepy. _And he didn't even acknowledge him either... but I have no idea how long he was behind me that entire time either. What's with these guys? _

"Phew, there's another boss down at last and a save point!" cheered the man, springing to life and pumping his arm in success. He pocketed the game and rubbed his eyes. "Is the new girl here? I was told she was some kind of cat-girl."

"Yeah, she's here," replied the boy that had insulted Kita before. He gave her another sneer.

"Great!" The man jumped down to the ground and instantly stared at Kita. A look of disappointment spread over his face. "This is it?" he asked. He walked over to Kita, instantly grabbing her ears by his fingertips and waving them up and down.

Kita glared up at the man as he continued to play with her ears. He seemed a bit younger than most other jounin she had seen with students their age; he was at least in his early twenties or so. His head was covered in a mess of uncombed dark blond hair, not to mention a 5 o'clock shadow of stubble growing unchecked on his face. A pair of bright, yet bloodshot hazel eyes stared down at her as he seemed to be analysing her as she did him. Kita thought for a second that the man seemed to be suffering from both fatigue and some kind of malnutrition, judging from his ashen appearance and the dark bags around his eyes.

She gave a closer inspection of his jounin outfit after her nose told her it hadn't seemed to have been washed in many days, maybe weeks... it was in a shoddy condition and his jounin jacket looked battered and worn, though it sported quite a lot of promotional buttons on it for things that sounded like video game titles. And as Kita glanced at his hip pouch, she saw it had been used to hold his game device and a number of games instead of the usual ninja support items.

"I don't like people doing that," growled Kita as she stopped studying the man.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you should try to feel some sympathy for me here. Video games had always promised cat-girls were supposed to be hot- you could hardly even be called cute."

The fur on Kita's ears prickled with agitation. The jounin finally let go and rubbed his chin.

"I'm going to call you Kitty." He nodded with a strange knowing smile.

Kita's lower eyelid twitched before she gave him a dark glare. "No," she told him firmly.

The man shrugged, seeing her expression. "_Fine_, Cat-Ears-chan it is then." He pulled his game device out again, sat down, and started to play once more.

"...'_Cat-Ears_-chan'?" Kita repeated, dumbstruck.

"Yeah," muttered the jounin casually. "If you don't like Kitty, then you'll be Cat-Ears. And the guy in green is Jeeves, and the other guy is Checkers."

Kita was feeling beyond confused now. "But he said his name was... why Jeeves?"

"Just ignore him," grunted the one the man had called 'Checkers'. He ran a hand through his hair. "His name is Yuugino Katsuro- he's our sensei." He gave a glare of his own at his teacher, who was already too wrapped up in his game to care.

_...Who the hell... why did Tsunade-sama stick me with these weirdoes? _The fur on Kita's ears continued to bristle irritably. _Damn it..._

"I take it you met Arata, Girly?" asked the boy, crossing his arms when she looked back at him with furrowed brows. "He's not much for introductions... are you, Arata?" He gave his head a jerk up at the other boy in green, a slight scoffing in his tone.

"Of course, Aitou-san," replied Arata with a brief nod and smile.

Kita took a breath, trying to stay calm, though it was hard. "You haven't even introduced yourself to me yet, 'Checkers'."

The boy's brows twitched at the name and glared at her. "It's rude to ask someone's name without giving their own first, _Girly_."

"Fine, it's Mitsukai Kita," she responded, her top lip curling up and revealing a pair of fangs.

"And I'm Aitou Susumu- definitely _not_ pleased to meet you." Susumu narrowed his eyes. "It's not like you'll be hanging around a long time though. The other girls they sent us all gave up and quit after a few days."

"I can see why..." Kita muttered to herself.

Susumu caught her mumbled words and glowered at her. "It's because they were weak. None of them were strong enough to keep up. And I seriously doubt you'll be any different. All girls are the same- whiny, easy to give up, and the first ones to cry. You'll be crying and begging the Hokage to transfer you within a week. I'll even bet on it."

Kita briefly glanced over at Arata who was still standing silently and like a statue, then over at her new sensei, enthralled in his video game. She straightened up and stared Susumu in the eye. "I don't know who those other girls were exactly, but I can tell you that I'm not going to be like them. You want to make a bet? Sure then. I bet that I'll be sticking with you guys until my time is up." She crossed her arms. "So you better get used to having me around. I came here for one purpose, and that is to become as strong as the Kazekage of Suna, Sabaku no Gaara!"

Arata and Katsuro seemed to snap out of whatever they were doing and looked over at the silver-haired girl who had proclaimed her confidence so readily.

Susumu too watched the girl until a smile tugged at the edge of his lips. He burst out laughing. "You've _got_ to be kidding me..."

Kita's arms uncrossed themselves as he laughed. One of her hands formed a fist. "YOU... BASTARD!"

Susumu suddenly was sent sprawling onto the ground as a fist slammed into his face. He leapt back up, a red fist-shape on his cheek. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!"

"You started it!" retorted Kita with a glare.

"You were the one acting all high and mighty with your 'I'm gonna be as strong as the Kazekage' speech! How could I not laugh? It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"It's not! I _am_ going to be as strong as Gaara!"

"Don't make me laugh again!"

"Don't make me hit you again!"

"Hey," interrupted Katsuro, thumbs tapping away on his game, "if you're going to fight again, do it properly. Go wear yourselves out with a duel or something- you're making me mess up vital combo moves."

Susumu thought for a second and looked down at Kita, a sneer on his face. "So, _girly_, how about it? Only taijutsu and tools allowed."

Kita glared at him. "You're on."

"And if you lose..." Susumu smirked at her. "You're off the team."

* * *

Kita paced back and forth angrily when they arrived at the training field. She felt tense, not from the challenge, but from the sheer animosity she felt towards Susumu. It didn't help that the buzzing in the back of her head felt like delirious happiness. Kita kept yelling in her head for Nibi to shut the hell up, but it only seemed to make the bijuu even happier. And for some reason, Kita seriously felt like she wanted a scratching post as well. She settled on the thought of having to use Susumu as one. 

A tiny voice in her head told her that she should keep a restraint on herself. If she injured Susumu too badly, she might get kicked out of the village.

_You shut up too_, Kita snapped at her conscious. _I just want to teach him a lesson. He's a jerk! A bastard! He deserves some justice! _

"Ready... Girly?" asked Susumu, cracking his knuckles. Arata and Katsuro stood a little far off next to a number of log poles.

Kita bared her fangs at him. "Yeah."

Katsuro, having put away his game, held up an arm. "Ready? Fight!"

Kita dashed along the ground at Susumu, claws extended to strike. Susumu pulled out a round ball and raised an eyebrow. He gave a smirk as he casually tossed it.

_KABOOM! _

A body went flying through the air out of the smoke and dust. Kita righted herself and landed unfazed, having just leapt out of the way. She looked up and leapt again as another came flying her way. The ball exploded beneath her. Kita landed and started to run again.

Susumu side-stepped, missing a fist aimed for his stomach. He grinned. "I'm not distracted this time. Your last shot at me before was a cheap one. Don't you girls have any sense of pride?"

Kita yelled sharply and stepped up the punches and kicks. Susumu easily dodged.

"Geez, you really _are_ weak," he mused, ducking under a kick. "And slow as anything. It's getting really boring."

_I'm not going to get beaten... I won't let him gloat over this... I'm not going to let him get the better of me! _Kita's head felt like it was swimming. The urge she felt to at least give this guy a good beating was insatiable. It was...

It was like he was prey.

Susumu gave a bored sigh. "Looks like I'm about to prove myself right," he said with a grin. "It seems like girls really are..."

He stopped short as he felt a sharp pain in his hands from where he had raised them to block a punch. His eyes widened as he saw Kita gripping tightly against his hands, her fingers entwined with his own, and claws biting into his knuckles. She pushed against his hands, trying to get him to back down.

Susumu pushed back, surprised at her strength. He could only see a slight smile on the girl's face as she kept her head lowered. Black chakra suddenly flared up around her. Susumu nearly faltered as he saw a cat's tail appear behind her, waving curiously. It was then Kita looked up, purple eyes blank and her smile widening to a twisted grin.

"Looks like you're about to be proved wrong, nyan."

* * *

Katsuro watched on in interest as Susumu leapt back and threw another bomb. The girl jumped out of the way and charged forward at him, trying to slash him with her claws. Susumu seemed frantic to get out of the way of the girl-gone-mad. 

"Interesting," spoke Katsuro with a plucky smile and pointing a finger up as if an idea had hit him. "A 'Berserk' mode!"

Another bomb went off. Susumu started yelling profanities at the girl.

"Crazy bitch! Get away from me!" He lobbed another bomb. Kita dashed out from the smoke on all fours and tried to pounce on him. Susumu managed to keep away with another explosion.

Katsuro raised an eyebrow. Things were getting stale now- like the two were just devolving to using button mashing now. The jounin glanced over at his other student. "Hey, Jeeves."

"Yes, Yuugino-san?" Arata continued to stare ahead, though it was unsure if he was watching the bizarre battle or ignoring it completely.

His sensei looked thoughtful. He rubbed a hand against his stubbled chin. "Got any Nepeta leaves?"

"Of course, Yuugino-san," replied Arata with a nod, understanding what he meant instantly. "I believe I have a variety that may be of use in this situation." He pulled a scroll from his pouch and unwound it, searching for the right seal. He waved a hand over the one he finally settled on and handed a small clump of leaves in a bag to Katsuro.

The man sniffed the bag briefly. "This will do." He squeezed it in his hand before throwing it towards Susumu. "Hey Checkers, heads up!"

"What?" Susumu caught the bag and looked it over, though keeping a close eye on Kita as she ran at him again.

"Go on, chuck it at her!" yelled his sensei.

"Whatever," retorted the boy lamely, chucking it at Kita.

The bag hit the girl in the face, her nose twitching at the scent.

"...Wha?" Susumu gaped in astonishment as the girl suddenly flopped onto the ground and started purring. The black chakra dissipated, though her tail kept waving back and forth excitedly as she pawed at the bag then rolled over it.

Katsuro walked over, and bent down next to Kita, patting her on the head. "Who's a good cat-girl?" he asked with a cooing tone. She purred as he scratched her behind the ears. Katsuro picked the bag up and jiggled it at Susumu. "It's Nepeta... you know, catnip."

"I... knew that," replied Susumu, crossing his arms. He stared down at Kita as she continued to purr helplessly. He gave a sigh and rubbed the sweat from his face. She'd sure given him a run for his money at least... much more than any other girl that had been on the team... except for...

Kita blinked suddenly and looked up, shaking her head and feeling dizzy. "What just happened...?"

"Nothing... Nothing happened," Susumu growled and turned his back to her.

Kita got to her feet and steadied herself from toppling over. Her eyes darted around warily. "Who won?"

"Won what?" asked Katsuro, scratching his neck whilst one hand furiously tapped away at his game.

"But... we had a fight..." said Kita with confusion. "And he said I'd be out if I lost. Who won?"

"Nobody did," replied Susumu. "Just forget about it. You can stay if you want, but I'm not going to go easy on you, Girly."

"Who's hungry?" inquired Katsuro, starting to walk away. "I could use some grub after all that excitement."

Susumu and Arata followed after, leaving Kita behind, standing dazed and confused.

_But... what excitement? I can't remember..._ thought Kita with a concerned look. She glanced down as she saw something black and purple wave in the corner of her sight.

Susumu glimpsed back as he heard Kita swear and try to leap on her tail.

"Strange girl," he muttered. _So we have what seems like a permanent girl on the team now for a while... though, she'll never be as good a replacement for Nikkou-chan... _

_Nikkou-chan... I wish you were still here..._

* * *

**A/N: **Heh, well, there you have it- Kita's new team. I hope nobody thought I was going to stick with any of the canon guys... that'd be boring... The news guys are a pretty interesting bunch once you get to know them, and hopefully we'll get around to finding out more about them too. But I'm also hoping to have a couple more cameos from the canon guys as well. 

**About the Names:**

**Sencha Arata:** Sencha is a 'Green Tea', whilst Arata is a name that means 'Freshness', so his name can basically translate to 'Fresh Green Tea', hehe.

**Yuugino Katsuro:** Yuugi means 'Game' and Katsuro is a name that means 'Victorious son'. Combined with 'no', it translates to 'Victorious Son of the Game'.

**Aitou Susumu:** Aitou means 'Regret', and can translate to 'Progressing', so together that is 'Progressing Regret'.

**See ya next time! **


	52. The Game Master

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Hm, sorry this chapter is a little boring I suppose, but it's somewhat of an insight to the characters. Hopefully the next chapter will be much better.

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* * *

**_Chapter 52: The Game Master _**

Kita poked at the food in front of her- sushi... one of her most hated foods. She had to try her hardest to restrain herself from popping it all in her mouth at once though. She hung her head briefly before looking back up. The eatery they were at was relatively empty, but Kita couldn't help noticing the staff at the counter giving her funny looks. She attempted to slide herself lower down into the chair of the booth so that she was partially hidden by the backs of her new team's heads.

She gave them all a look over again. The trio were obviously weird. The first one she had met, Sencha Arata, who continued his strange hobby of staring straight ahead intently. He had not dared to touch his food yet. Kita wondered if he was just a boring person, the silent type, or some kind of highly trained robot. Her fingers tapped on the seat as she thought. He didn't seem to be the robot kind... he smiled a tad too much for it. He was rather like a butler of sorts. Kita suddenly made the connection to why Katsuro had called him 'Jeeves'.

Her gaze switched to her new sensei, Yuugino Katsuro- a rather young, yet weary looking man. He had gobbled his food as soon as it had landed on the table and started playing his video game again. Kita gave a brief look of worry. He seemed neither professional nor like any jounin she had ever really met before. She wondered just how the man worked on proper missions... it was rather worrying to think about someone like that leading a highly dangerous mission.

Lastly, she gave a glimpse over at the last member of her new team, Aitou Susumu. The older boy was eagerly shovelling food into his mouth like it was his last meal. Kita found herself frowning at him, not because of his eating habits, but because of his attitude. Within the first few seconds of having met each other, he had already badmouthed her gender and laughed in her face when she said she'd train and become as strong as she could. She felt some satisfaction at having punched him in the face after it, but she still felt infuriated by his mere presence.

"You know, he won't eat until you've started," spoke Susumu in between bites. His dark blue eyes flashed over towards Arata, still staring ahead... though Kita was sure she caught a glimpse of him eyeing his food from under his low hitae-ate.

Kita sighed and swallowed her pride. It tasted horrible to her... in the bizarre way that it was actually really good. As soon as she gulped down the first piece, Arata started to eat, a sense of relief about him.

Susumu gave a grunt. "Girls... always thinking the world will wait for them..."

Kita grumbled- getting into another argument would be a waste of time, and would gain people's attentions. A thought suddenly hit her. "What kind of ninja are you guys anyway?" she asked curiously. For some reason, she didn't exactly pick them as a normal ninja team. And Tsunade's comment before about 'having lots of time to train' still puzzled her.

"Finally figured it out, huh?" replied Susumu with a smirk. "We're an Internal Guard squad. Since we're not in a war at the moment, we just do border patrol and a few missions around town."

"Oh..." Kita frowned. It all made sense now why Tsunade had placed her with this team- it fitted her restricted status perfectly. "What do you do _in_ war time then?"

Susumu didn't seem to have heard her. He stared down at his empty plate for a minute.

"We are left to protect the village with the other guard squads," Katsuro said for him, pressing a button every now and then.

"So it's still the same?" asked Kita, feeling a little put off still.

"Not exactly," replied the jounin. "In that case, missions must be constrained since all resources will be hoarded and put into the war effort. Build time for resources will go into overdrive, but the assemblage of new units and training will be put on hiatus. If an enemy siege on the village is feared, the village goes into lockdown and all civilians are evacuated from the area. If a siege on the village is the case, most of the remaining units will attempt to rush the enemy and try and overwhelm them or stall until back-up arrives."

Kita stared at the man with a look of pure confusion. "What...?"

Susumu sighed agitatedly, snapping out of whatever he was thinking about. "He's talking in video game terms again. I have no idea what he means exactly, but during war time, we act like a skeleton crew and try to keep the order within the village. Since it's only us and the newest batch of genin left, we can't keep up on missions. The genin will be able to do small stuff within and around the village without jounin supervision, but if something comes in that offers a lot of money, a guard squad may get sent to do it."

"And if the village is attacked?"

"We'll try and hold them off until help arrives from the field. Everyone usually gets a fair warning of what's happening though because of spies so there's enough time to organise." The white-haired boy shrugged.

Kita went back to poking at the last remaining morsels on her plate.

"Alright, back to work," announced Katsuro suddenly. He stood up and started to walk out. "Hey Jeeves, pay the bill, would ya?"

"Of course, Yuugino-san." Arata nodded and headed to the counter.

Kita fumbled to grab some spare cash from her pocket until Susumu grabbed her by the wrist.

"Don't bother, he won't let you." The boy let go and followed after Katsuro.

"How come?" Kita quickened her pace to match his. She couldn't help but feel it was wrong to let... no, _order_ the other boy foot the bill for all of them.

Susumu didn't care to answer, earning himself a hard glare from the girl. He glared back and gave a 'hmph'. "Girls... always sticking their noses in where it doesn't belong."

Kita ignored him and slowed down, allowing herself to drop back to where Arata was walking.

"Mitsukai-san," said the boy suddenly, "if you are wondering about paying your share of the bill, please do not worry. It was the proper thing to do since you are our guest at the moment."

The cat-eared girl looked up at him. "But what about the others?"

Arata gave a slight smile and nod. "It was also the proper thing to do."

Kita raised an eyebrow at him, but chose to remain silent. _No, you just let yourself be ordered around. Your sensei just told you to pay the bill and walked out. He didn't even try to make any kind of lame excuse for not being able to pay. Rosuto-sensei would have even done that at the very least and politely asked. _

The team continued to walk until they reached the part of the wall they had met at earlier. Instead of stopping though, Katsuro continued to walk up the side, still staring at his game. Kita followed until they reached the top.

"You guys know the drill. Cat-Ears-chan, walk with me." Katsuro motioned with his head as Arata and Susumu started to walk off in the other direction.

Kita tagged along behind him. "What are we doing?"

"Border patrol," replied Katsuro simply. A small beeping sound came from his game. "Damn, where'd that lava pool come from?"

"Uh, Katsuro-sensei, if this is border patrol, shouldn't you be keeping an eye on the surroundings?" asked Kita doubtfully.

"I can multi-task. Damn it, not again. It's gotta be some kind of glitch!" His game gave another sad beep. The man switched it off angrily and swapped games. "So what kind of mad skillz do you bring to the party, Cat-Ears-chan?"

"'_Skillz_'?" repeated Kita. She looked around awkwardly, not sure if he was talking in video game terms again.

"Splash damage, area effect, crowd control... you know." The jounin shrugged casually.

Apparently so, was the answer to her question, making Kita feel even more awkward.

"Can you tank?" asked Katsuro. Kita raised an eyebrow. Then man continued despite her confusion. "We used to have a tank. The formation of our team used to be very effective with one, since Jeeves and Checkers don't have the stats for defence. We had a good tank-healer-damager trinity going for a while..."

"Katsuro-sensei, I don't exactly understand..." She knew he was talking about abilities, but just which ones? It seemed impossible.

The man paused and glanced back at her for a second before walking again. "You need to start playing video games then. I'll try my best for layman's terms though since you're a newbie. I noticed your taijutsu during your fight with Checkers- you're pretty versatile in your fighting styles, but very sloppy in execution. You need more training to be more effective."

Kita frowned, knowing he was right. The only taijutsu knowledge she had wasn't exactly the best.

"I take it you would probably depend more on your special abilities," Katsuro pondered out loud. "What abilities did you get from the Nibi?"

The cat-eared girl stopped in her tracks. The question had caught her off-guard, to say the least. He had probably been the first one to ask so forwardly as well.

"I know that the Kazekage has some rather unique skills from the Ichibi. He'd make an awesome tank-damager hybrid probably, and he could possibly just nuke all his enemies at once." The man glanced up as a flock of birds flew close overhead. "So, how about you?"

Kita scratched her elbow warily. "I don't really like to use those _abilities_... I've never really been on good terms with dealing with..."

"I didn't say you had to use them," replied Katsuro abruptly. He gave an 'erk' of surprise as something happened in his game. He took a second to continue. "Just tell me a little."

"Alright," sighed Kita, feeling that the man wouldn't give up without some sort of information. "I can do some of that stuff, um, necromancy- interaction with spirits and corpses. I don't really like to do anything with corpses though."

"That's interesting, especially about the spirits. Manipulating corpses has always been somewhat more common over anything regarding the spiritual world- and most of those types of techniques would be forbidden."

"Which is why I don't like to abuse using them," Kita replied quickly. "It doesn't feel right. And it takes a lot of chakra for me to do at the moment."

Katsuro gave a vague shrug. "If that's how you feel then- though it seems to me that you're just missing up on an important opportunity many would give a leg for. If you got it, flaunt it. Or at least that's what they say."

Kita sighed. _I don't know what to think... This guy doesn't understand what I've been through or the circumstances. But... somehow he's right too. I could be a stronger person if I wasn't so afraid... it's just not right still. _

She looked around, finally taking in the view from atop the wall. On one side were vast forests of green, interrupted occasionally by large fields used for training. Kita spotted a few contained forests inside the fields, darker green than the usual trees outside them. There was almost a menacing feeling radiating from them, wild and dangerous. On the other side was the village, still mingling with patches of forest inside, but tamer and peaceful-feeling, like small well-kempt parks. Her ears were able to pick up the sounds of people from the nearby streets below, and more than occasionally she was able to catch glimpses of fellow ninja leaping across the rooftops.

She looked up, placing the village against the backdrop of the cliff-face behind it, where the faces of four men stared out across the land. They felt like guardians, keeping watch over the village so that no harm would come. Another face was being carved into the cliff-face as well, Tsunade, the Godaime. It was still rather featureless though, but would be completed one day so that she too would join watching out over the people.

Kita breathed in as a breeze drifted past. She suddenly felt more homesick than she'd ever felt before. Where was she, in this strange place surrounded by unknown forests and fresh faces? It certainly wasn't Iwagakure, or anything like Sunagakure... it was daunting.

_There's still so far to go,_ Kita thought, _and I've got to make the best of it. _

"Maybe you could be the tank," said Katsuro wonderingly. "I've heard interesting things about your bloodline. Is it more of an offensive or defensive bloodline?"

Kita snapped out from her thoughts. "It was created to be used defensively, since the basic _Shouheki_ is mostly meant as a shield."

"I suppose that could do," replied Katsuro with a nod. "But I did notice you don't carry any kunai or shuriken."

The girl glanced down at the man's leg pouch. "As long as I can use my bloodline, I could use that as a tool."

"What limitations do you have?" he asked.

Kita took a second to think. "My bloodline manifests itself in the shape of a halo. I can't do anything to change that," she informed him, wondering what was with all the questions. "It can be a little difficult sometimes since I don't have many jutsu for it."

"You're probably not as limited as you think." The man halted and spun around, a grin on his face. Kita stepped back a little. Katsuro put his game away and pulled out a pad of paper and pencil. "This will be interesting... _very_ interesting. If you're willing to work hard, perhaps I could help you. I'd like to see just how far I can push your bloodline."

Kita raised an eyebrow at his remark. "Are you sure about that?"

Her new sensei's grin only widened as he started scribbling furiously on the paper. "Of course- after all, I'm the Game Master in this plot."

Kita didn't feel too confident as they continued to walk.

* * *

**Later that afternoon...**

_Geez, I haven't been shopping in so long now..._ Kita picked up a green top and looked it at doubtfully. _Temari is better at picking clothes than I am. _

After walking around the wall of the village, Katsuro had said that they could have the rest of the day off whilst he went to work out "things". Susumu had just shrugged and walked off, grumbling about girls and his teacher's obsession for new toys, or something like that. Arata had bowed to Kita and politely offered his pleasure at meeting her once more before he too left. She had given a twisted smile at him as he left. He still seemed like a strange enigma she wanted to know more about.

_Curiosity killed the cat, _Kita thought to herself grumpily, _but I at least wish someone in this team would call me by my name... 'Girly' and 'Cat-Ears-chan' aren't exactly flattering. And it feels awkward with Arata calling me 'Mitsukai-san', but he seems to be overly formal with everyone, even his own team. I wonder if he's always that way around people?_

"Excuse me, do you need any help?"

Kita turned to the shop assistant, an older girl with bright orange wavy hair and dark brown eyes. "I'm not exactly sure," Kita said. "It's been a very long time since I've had to do this, but I don't have any clothes except what I'm wearing."

The other girl looked at her strangely before giving a slight shrug. "Well, you're never too old to learn what good taste is. I know green and purple is supposed to be a good combination, but probably not on you."

The girl picked up a pale yellow halter-neck with detached sleeves and made Kita hold it up against her. "Hm, that's a nice one." She continued to the next rack and sorted through it. She glanced over as Kita followed. "I really like that cat ears headband you're wearing. They really suit you. Where'd you get them? Do they come in different colours?"

"Um, they're... sort of a one-off design," Kita lied, pretending to be interested in a pair of pants on the rack.

"Oh, well that's a shame," replied the girl with a tone full of disappointment. "They're really cute. Let's keep going though! We've got lots of clothes to get through and not much time!"

Before too long, Kita's arms were full with a stack of clothing- from leggings to skirts, to jackets and shirts.

"Well, that should do." The orange-haired girl dusted her hands and nodded admiringly at the clothes. She led Kita to the front counter where another girl took the pile (with some difficulty) and began to add up the amount. Kita's ears twitched at the amount and she turned to the girl that had helped her.

"Um, I don't actually have that much money at the moment..." she confessed guiltily. "I don't get my full pay-check for a few days, and I still have to buy food."

"Oh," replied the girl, scratching her neck. She suddenly pulled out a wallet and handed a wad of cash to the girl at the counter. "Let me pay for them then. Food is more important than fashion when it comes down to it. Though, it'd be a shame after all that work I did."

Kita mouth gaped. "But... but..."

The girl smiled. "No worries- just enjoy." She waved and walked towards the exit of the shop.

"Wait, you don't work here?" Kita called after her.

"Nope," replied the girl, turning back for a second. She grinned. "I just like to help the fashionably-impaired. See ya!"

Kita stood in a kind of shock for a second. Some stranger had just payed a lot of money for a pile of clothes... for her.

"That sure was nice," said the real shop assistant.

"Yeah..." nodded Kita. She looked down at the register. _I didn't get to thank her though..._

The girl at the counter pushed across some bags with the new purchases in them. "Here you go."

Kita thanked her and picked the bags up. As she walked out the door, she looked up at the Hokage Tower down the street. _I think I should go talk to Tsunade about my new team... Something's just not right._

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Not much to say here! (Though I'm still waiting on my new computer, so I'm feeling sad... it was supposed to be here by now)

**Until the next chapter! **


	53. Visitor in the Night

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Phew, finally. Anyway, not much to say- though I've still been having computer problems and all that lately. Erg, if only I could get my assignments done as quickly as I could a chapter. They're only 2000 words, and each chapter of TTA is 3000 words at least! Heh, ironic.

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 53: Visitor in the Night _**

**Inside the Hokage's Office... **

"I know you have concerns, Shikamaru, but in all truth, you have no say in the matter. Gaara... I mean, the _Kazekage_ and I already discussed this and we feel that all will be fine. She doesn't impose any threat on any of the people of this village."

"But Tsunade-sama..."

Tsunade sighed and pinched the upper bridge of her nose. The spiky-haired chuunin before her did like to test her patience sometimes... "Shikamaru, I have my reasons. You don't have to worry."

There was a knock at the door and Shizune poked her head inside. "Tsunade-sama, Kita-chan would like to talk to you?"

"Alright, just wait a minute," replied the woman. She looked at Shikamaru, who seemed peeved. She frowned. "If you keep this up, I'll make sure to put her on a mission with you, is that clear?"

The young man stiffened. "Yes, Tsunade-sama." He turned and walked out towards the door, passing a cat-eared girl along the way. "Peh, women... so troublesome," he muttered.

The girl gave a side-glance at him as he walked past. _What's with all the boys in this village and girls? _

"What is it, Kita?" asked Tsunade, looking like she was edging towards the drawer with her sake in it.

"_Tsunade-sama_," Shizune warned her sternly.

The older woman grumbled to herself and sat up straight again. Kita's brows furrowed worriedly.

"Tsunade-sama, my team is..."

"A little stranger compared to what you'd usually be used to. Yes, I already know," interrupted the woman. She sighed and pulled out a folder. "I don't deny that I placed them with you unintentionally, but I believe that both you and they would have benefited from it."

"One of the boys on my team, Aitou Susumu- he said that you had sent other girls to join their team before, but they had all quit." Kita looked down at the table as Tsunade started to place files before her- quite a number of them. Each document had a photo of a girl attached as well as sporting a stamp in red ink that read such things as 'reassigned' or 'resigned'. "Why did you keep sending more girls?" she asked, visibly troubled.

"Because they needed it- another male would have only created more problems." Tsunade tapped her fingernails on top of the documents irritably. "And with that team, there are already enough problems as is it. I had always believed that having another female on their team would help them to sort out their issues, but they've been hard to crack so far. I'd leave them, but they're in the Internal Guard and those sorts of teams have stricter guidelines."

Kita's eyes continued to sweep over each of the documents. All of them were just ordinary, happy looking girls. Kita bet each of them had left in tears after having come in contact with Susumu and getting little else out of Arata or Katsuro-sensei- it probably would have been a very harsh situation for them. "Why do... Why are like that?"

Tsunade was looking down at the photos too. "There are many reasons. Believe me; I've tried to help them. There are just _too_ many issues to resolve within that team. Even before what happened they had a few problems, and then they just escalated from there."

"_Before_?" inquired Kita wonderingly. "What happened?"

The woman's mouth opened for a second, but no words came out. She looked thoughtful before she shook her head slowly. "I think... that is just something you will have to eventually work out yourself. When they learn to trust and accept you, then perhaps you will find out."

Kita sighed. "I said I would stick with them no matter what and prove my strength, so I'll just have to work my hardest to not only help myself, but them too."

Tsunade smiled crookedly at her. "You're a lot different from these other girls, Kita. You have a resolve in you that I haven't seen in quite a while." She stood up suddenly after glancing at the clock on her wall. "I'm afraid that's all the time I can give you. I have a training lesson to go to for my student Sakura."

The cat-eared girl bowed. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

As the woman rounded the desk and passed her, she ruffled the girl's hair. "I think I'm starting to like you a little more, Kita." She grabbed a baseball bat sitting next to the door and left.

Kita gave a crooked smile of her own.

* * *

**That night…**

_I don't know how I'm going to survive this,_ Kita thought to herself with a sigh. She had had trouble sleeping all night. _I know Gaara has faith in me, but my team… I don't think it's going to be like "old times" like when I was with Sora and Yanagi…_

She rolled over in her bed to face the window. The lights of the village twinkled in the receding darkness like stars, albeit that some were large neon signs flashing up messages advertising some of the seedier sides of the city that surrounded the apartment block. Kita wondered how on earth someone could put up with all that, then remembered the old calendar she'd found on the wall with pictures of barely clothed models.

_Whoever this Naruto is… he's not exactly the clean sort._

The door suddenly opened behind her. Something dropped to the ground with a thud, followed by a choked gasp.

Kita's eyes widened as she sat up and turned towards the door. A girl stood in the doorway. A bucket of cleaning products lay on the ground before her, bottles rolling away from her feet.

The girl stepped back a little but stopped, as if finding some confidence. "What are you doing in Naruto-kun's apartment?" she asked, hands looking ready for battle.

Kita stared at the girl with dark blue hair and… white eyes? _A Hyuuga?_ Kita asked herself. _Wait... wasn't this the same…_

"You're the one who fought against Yume, aren't you?" Kita said to the girl.

The girl blinked. "You know Yume-chan?"

Kita got to her feet and went to the light switch. She could see perfectly well in the dark herself, but the other girl probably didn't. A small 'oh!' came from the Hyuuga as the light bulb sprang to life. She suddenly froze as recognition set in.

"You… you were the one…"

The cat-eared girl waved her hands frantically. "Please, don't be worried. I'm here on exchange from Suna- Tsunade-sama approved it."

The other girl didn't look too sure, though she seemed to have regained her confidence about the situation. "Why are you staying in Naruto-kun's apartment then?"

"It was Tsunade-sama's decision," Kita replied apologetically. "I didn't know that someone was already taking care of the place- she never mentioned it to me."

The dark haired girl blushed. "I… Nobody knows that I'm doing this. I wanted to make sure Naruto-kun's place was kept nice for when he returned home- then he wouldn't have to worry about it. He is away training so I thought that this was the least I could do to show my support."

Kita lightly raised an eyebrow. It seemed like she liked Naruto in some way. "I'm sorry, but I can't really remember your name…"

The girl realised she had blushing and recomposed herself. "I'm Hinata."

"Kita," the other girl offered. "By the way you said it, it sounded like you knew Yume better then what I thought."

Hinata nodded. "Yume-chan and I write to each other quite often. She's very nice."

Kita gave a crooked smile. It was a pleasant surprise, if anything. Though, she felt a tiny pang of homesickness in her heart again.

"We don't talk about ninja things, but that's what I like the most," Hinata continued. Her gaze went past Kita. "Oh dear…"

Kita turned to where she was looking, seeing the wilted plant next to the bedside. "I watered it, but it hasn't improved…"

Hinata sighed. "I wanted to bring the plants home with me when I first started cleaning so I could look after them. But it would have been too suspicious. My father would have noticed them immediately." She looked at the ground, her hands trembling nervously. "Naruto-kun may not look it sometimes, but he's very gentle and caring. He takes great care over his plants. He must have been disappointed he couldn't take them with him. And because I wasn't able to take care of them myself, now he'll be even more disappointed when he comes back and finds them that way…"

Kita put a reassuring smile on and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure Naruto would have been expecting that anyway. Is there anybody you know who could help you?"

"Uh…" The dark haired girl's brow furrowed as she thought. "Well, there may be somebody who may help. He's very skilled with plants, and wouldn't tell anybody about the situation."

"Okay then," Kita replied with a nod. "We'll take the plants to him then."

* * *

**Later… **

Hinata's hand hesitated for a brief moment before she pressed the doorbell. A faint chime reached Kita's ears with the sound of footsteps coming from upstairs. The door opened a minute later, revealing a teenaged boy in a green dressing gown.

The older boy blinked suddenly, and then bowed. "It is an unexpected pleasure to see you at this time in the morning, Mitsukai-san, Hyuuga-san."

Kita's ears twitched as she recognised the three red triangles under the boy's eyes. "…Arata?" She stared at him- without his hitae-ate on Kita could finally see Arata's face properly. She was surprised that he was actually quite handsome, especially with his now-revealed brilliant green eyes and his hair not sticking everywhere. She fumbled with the plant in her hands when she noticed his bare chest under the dressing gown. She averted her gaze and quickly readjusted the plant so she could place it on the ground gently.

Hinata looked from Arata to Kita. "You know Arata-san?"

Kita nodded back. "Uh, yeah… I was just placed in his team."

Arata squatted down next to the plant Kita had put down, gently touching a leaf. "This has been neglected for quite a while," he muttered. "Poor thing… you've been through a lot."

"It's my fault," replied Hinata, an expression of sadness on her face. "I wasn't able to take enough care of it and the others."

"Can you fix them?" asked Kita.

Her team mate nodded, his eyes scanning over the plants. "It shouldn't be too much of a problem- though another week or so would have really put them beyond help. Come on in and we'll put them in the greenhouse."

Kita glanced at him strangely. _Is it just me, or just…. He seems to be acting differently now. Though he seems to be talking more to the plants than us... _

She gave a small shrug and picked the plant she was carrying back up. Arata led them down the hallway of his house- a slightly narrow residence as it was a townhouse complex. Kita's nose twitched as she walked. The place smelt… different. Like a forest, with lots of earthy smells and greenery. Though, there were smells of dried herbs and teas too. Unconsciously, Kita found herself smiling as she breathed in the different scents.

"The greenhouse is just out here," Arata directed them, opening the back door. "Be careful where you step. A lot of these plants are very special to me."

The garden outside was bigger than it may have seemed from the front. It wasn't wide, but was long enough. Both of the fences were lined with various plants neither Kita nor Hinata knew the names of, and at the very end stood a small greenhouse, covered in opaque glass. Kita and Hinata placed their plants down on a bench inside.

"Since you are here, would you like something to drink?" asked Arata.

Hinata nodded eagerly. "That would be lovely, Arata-san."

"Please wait here then and I shall be back soon," replied the boy, slipping back into the self Kita had first met.

Kita waited until she heard the back door close.

"Arata-san makes the best tea," Hinata sighed, a smile on her face.

"Hinata-chan, what can you tell me about Arata?" Kita interrupted. "I can't understand why he acts the way he does."

The dark haired girl looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure myself. But the way he talks to people is different to the way he talks when he's around plants. Sometimes, when we have a problem with our gardens, we ask Arata-san to take a look because he's so talented. I followed him once and noticed that he is a lot more easier-going when he's working. He isn't much of a people-person." Hinata shook her head slowly. "It's a shame since I have heard that there are a lot of girls that have a crush on him."

Kita raised an eyebrow. _So he's not only a ninja, but a gardener of some kind- a talented one; not much for social situations, but talks freely to plants; and is a heartthrob amongst a lot of girls? What's with this guy? _

"I don't know much about him apart from his work," continued Hinata, "except, that he lives alone whilst his parents own a tea house in the south somewhere."

The door creaked open a few seconds later and Arata walked in with a tray. "I apologise for the wait- the water took a little long to heat."

"It's okay, really it is," replied Hinata hurriedly. She accepted a cup from him and took a sip, taking a deep sigh afterwards. "I wish I knew how to make tea as well as you, Arata-san. My father is quite fond of the teas you sell, but I can't seem to make as good a cup as you can with them."

Kita eyed her tea for a second before taking a sip as well. True, she wasn't a tea person, but this wasn't actually too bad.

Arata nodded his acknowledgement at her. "Learning to make tea requires a lot of practise and patience. But, it can be difficult to exactly teach someone to make tea, since nobody can exactly recreate the same kind as another."

"Huh? Why is that?" asked Kita, glancing up from her cup.

"It is because you need to put a little of your own spirit into what you do. It is the same with all things- but in tea, you make something that people can enjoy and feel rejuvenated over. In the end, it is like you are drinking the love and caring one puts into making it."

Kita gave a strange stare at him. "It sounds kinda gross when you put it like that."

"It's not gross, Kita-chan," said Hinata. A small smile spread over her face. "I understand what Arata-san means. If you want to get the best out of something you make, you have to put your love into it. Is that it, Arata-san?"

The older boy nodded. "That is correct, Hyuuga-san."

_Maybe I thought a bit wrong of Arata when I first met him…_ thought Kita, staring down into her cup again. _He's not some kind of uptight butler, though it may seem it at first. The way he talks is a lot freer when he's with plants, like what Hinata-chan said. He even seems a little more comfortable speaking with us here than when he was with the team. _Her brows furrowed suddenly. _Do you think, perhaps that… he's the most strange when he's with the team? _

"Are you okay, Kita-chan?" asked Hinata concernedly.

Kita blinked and looked up at the older girl. "Oh, yeah, Hinata-chan, it's… I was just thinking about what Arata said. It makes sense now."

Hinata smiled back. "Maybe if I practise really hard, then one day after Naruto-kun comes back I can make him some tea."

"I'm sure he'd like that," Kita replied, though secretly unsure. She glanced up at the warming sky through the blurred glass of the building. "I'd better get back home. There's some things I need to do today, and I don't want to be tired before I even start."

"Would it be alright if I visited you again sometime, Kita-chan?" asked Hinata as Arata poured her another cup of tea.

The girl paused and turned. She gave a cat-like smile suddenly. "That'd be great, Hinata-chan," she replied happily. "I'll see you again later then. And I'll probably see you later today, Arata-san."

Arata bowed at her as she left.

Kita continued to smile as she walked down the street. _You know, maybe it won't be too bad._

* * *

_Dear Gaara, _

_Um, I'm not very good at writing letters, sorry. And my handwriting is really bad, isn't it? I haven't had to really write anything in a while. I think the last letter I ever wrote was something I scratched out on a piece of metal. It wasn't very good, that's for sure. _

_Anyway, I met my new team the other day. They're… kinda weird and I think something bad might have happened to them once, but I'm going to stick with them. Maybe I can help them someway. Yeah, I know I'm not really the type to help strangers, but I have a good reason, and Tsunade-sama seems to have warmed up to me a little since I said I'd stay with them. Though one of the guys is a real sexist and he's really annoying. One of the other reasons I think I want to stay is so I can prove myself to him. _

_At first when you left I thought I was going to go through some real hell, especially after that meeting with Tsunade-sama. But, you know, it's not as bad as I thought. When I was out shopping, someone paid for my new clothes. How lucky is that? _

_And I unexpectedly met someone last night- Hinata from the Hyuuga clan. We met in a really strange way, but she seems to be a nice person. After she got over the shock of finding me in Naruto's apartment, we started to talk and it turns out she writes letters to a girl I know back in Iwa. _

_It's kinda embarrassing to be staying in someone else's place. It looks like I'll never get to meet him either because of Tsunade-sama. I've never been too good at thinking ahead of myself, but maybe it's for the best. _

_My new sensei said he wants to help me with my training, so I'll be meeting him and the others later today. I'm a bit worried, since the guy speaks in weird terms, but he seems sincere about wanting to help me get strong (if only for his own curiosity). I hope nothing too bad happens. _

_Have you been going okay, Gaara? When you left you seemed really… Anyway, don't let yourself get buried in paperwork like how it looks like in Tsunade-sama's office. That place is a mess. _

_Tell Temari and Kankuro I'm going okay too, would you? And that I really miss you all. I hope you can write back, though I know you're busy being Kazekage and all… _

_I'll write again sometime soon. _

_Kita _

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Well, next chapter should have a little more action in it hopefully. I'm not very good at thinking ahead either it seems. Heh.

**See ya next time! **


	54. A Way Around

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Soooo…. Yeah, I procrastinated and finished another chapter instead of assignments. I need a Baseball Bat of Motivation or something.

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 54: _** **_A Way_****_ Around _**

The mailbox gave a clunking sound as the chute door closed after the dropped letter. Kita stared at it for a second.

_Please write back… I felt like you were angry at me when you left. _

"Mailing a letter, Girly?"

"I have a name, _Checkers_." Kita's eyes glanced over at her team mate. Susumu's brow twitched before he gave a sneer.

"Yeah, whatever, Girly," he replied. He placed his hands in his pockets and looked around. "I need a coffee," he announced suddenly and took off. He stopped after a second and glanced back. "You coming or not?"

Kita raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"Fine, if you don't want to…" The older boy shrugged and continued on.

Kita grumbled to herself and trotted to catch up, soon finding herself sitting at a long bar facing an open window. She chewed on the straw in her mouth from her milkshake. Susumu stared out the window towards the street, a latte in his hands. Kita gave a doubtful look at it.

"Go on, I dare you to make fun of it," growled Susumu, glancing across at her.

The girl's mouth twitched in a smirk regardless. "You know, for making fun of girls so much, I would have thought you'd order something _manlier_, nyan?"

Susumu frowned at her. "What was that?"

"What was what?" questioned Kita, put off by his remark. She gave a slight groan. "If you mean that 'nyan' thing, because I can't do anything about it- it just happens sometimes."

"No… not exactly that, but when you did it you seemed… like yesterday… never mind…" Susumu turned back to studying the street, though his eyes didn't focus on anything in particular.

Kita gave him a hard stare for a second, but gave up and went back to her own drink.

Susumu gave a quick glance across at the girl next to him. _The look in her eyes completely changed, like it was someone else that was there. It was almost the same look from yesterday when we fought and she went ballistic. But… she couldn't remember what happened after that. What would you think about her if it were you sitting here, Nikkou-chan? You'd probably tell me to act like a gentleman and then give me that smile when I'd refuse. _

He quickly downed the last of his drink and stood up. He pointed a finger down at Kita. "If you're thinking about ways to gain my approval, you've got a lot to live up for."

Kita glared up at him. "I don't want your approval."

"It's because it's too hard for you to do, isn't it?" Susumu replied with a sneer. "Girls always give up so easily."

The girl thumped her hands on the table as she stood up to face him. "I don't want your approval, but I at _least_ would like some kind of respect from you."

Her team mate shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, whatever…" He suddenly smirked and stared her in the eyes. "Because I have high standards when it comes to girls- you got that?"

Kita blinked.

"Come on, I'm sure Katsuro-sensei is getting impatient that his new toy hasn't turned up."

"I'm not his plaything," muttered Kita as she followed beside him. She swerved around people as they worked their way down the busy street.

"Too bad, because you are," replied Susumu, knocking into a man, but ignoring their yell at him. "And he'll make sure to put you through hell too. He may seem like he'd forget and go onto other things, but he's not. I've seen him stay up continually for days just so he can finish a game. He's more stubborn that he looks."

Kita gave a small groan. Even if the man's offer of helping her in her training was a good one, the way Susumu put it seemed as though she was going to end up chasing her own tail around.

* * *

**At the training field…**

"Cat-Ears-chan! Great, now we can start!" Katsuro grinned and waved a notebook at Kita. The girl winced, but covered it up with a smile.

"I don't see why I have to be here," grumbled Susumu, walking up next to Arata and crossing his arms.

"Cat-Ears-chan needs to have someone she can train her new techniques on," replied his sensei, currently playing with Kita's ears again and wiggling them up and down.

Kita focussed her death-stare on a tree in the distance, quietly muttering under her breath to put up with it.

"Katsuro-sensei, this is the _real_ world, not a video game where the opponent doesn't get hurt!" Susumu retorted.

"Ah, of course," his sensei replied vaguely with a nod. He had moved on from Kita's ears to studying her hands. He looked on in fascination as he pressed on the top joint of a finger and a claw slid out.

Susumu sighed and glanced across at Arata. "What are you doing here anyway? Katsuro said _you_ didn't have to come."

"I thought it would be best to in case of a repeat of yesterday's incident, Aitou-san," replied the other boy, gazing across at the situation. Kita was trying her best to put up with Katsuro's studying of her. It was rather hard, seeing as the man was staring deeply into her eyes and moving around to match whenever Kita couldn't keep her gaze straight.

"So you say you can see spirits with these?" he asked, nearly coming nose to nose with Kita.

Kita jerked her head back a little. It was a bit too close for her liking, and having to look into the man's horribly bloodshot eyes was almost too much. "Uh, yeah," she responded, "though I keep it inactive."

The man finally stepped back. "Hm, alright! All checks are done!" He nodded in satisfaction. "Now show me your bloodline."

_Just put up with it… just put up with it…_ Kita told herself over and over again. She put her hands into a seal. "_Hiton; Enkou Shouheki_." A gold-coloured halo shimmered into being before her.

"Impressive, impressive," replied Katsuro. He tried to stick a hand through the middle of the halo, but struck an invisible barrier. "Oh, that's strange."

"I have no idea what that is," Kita said awkwardly. "It doesn't look as though it should be solid, but it is."

"Make it unsolid then," suggested the man offhandedly.

Kita frowned. "I can't just do that. I don't even know what makes it that way."

Susumu put a hand to his face. "Not again. He doesn't care about _how _things are done, just that they're done. I guess that in video games they don't really care about realistic training." He jutted an open palm before at Arata. "Hand me a couple of those chakra paper things you have."

"Of course, Aitou-san," complied Arata, taking two squares of paper out from his side pouch. Susumu grabbed them and strode over, sticking them into Kita's hands.

"Hold those and go to make another one of your halos," he ordered gruffly.

Kita grumbled and started forming seals. "_Hiton…_" Before her hands touched though, the papers in her hands turned strange- one crumpled up violently whilst the other split in half. "What the…?" She dropped them.

Susumu grabbed them in mid-air before they hit the ground. "Thought so…" he murmured. He held the papers up at Kita. "What Katsuro-sensei forgot to remember is that some unique jutsu are created through the combination of two chakra types. You've got lightning and wind natures, Girly."

"Lightning and wind…?" repeated Kita. Her brows furrowed as she thought. "I think that Temari once told me that wind chakra could be used to make sharp weapons." She glanced over at Katsuro, who seemed to have completely ignored the chakra test and was knocking on the solid area of her previous halo.

"The wind chakra must be solidifying around the lightning chakra, but you haven't enough control to keep the wind chakra in check around a specific area," Susumu said, frowning as he looked over as well.

"But then, why does my chakra form into a halo when others have had different shapes? And if it's created with my own lightning chakra, why does that mean I can only use my jutsu when there's a light source?"

The boy seemed to think for a second before simply shrugging. "Nooo idea."

"Yeah, thanks for the help," muttered Kita with a glare. She stared over at the halo she had made._ So much knowledge was lost about the clan in the war… I have no idea where to begin. _

Katsuro flipped through his notepad, sucking on the end of his pencil as his eyes sped over what he had written. "If it's solid, that makes lots of problems," he said to himself. He sighed. "And I had made so many cool techniques too!"

Kita sighed as well. "I'll have to work on it then, Katsuro-sensei."

The man wandered around in circles, still staring at his notepad and chewing on his pencil agitatedly. Kita gazed at him confusedly.

"Ignore him," growled Susumu. He had his hand hovered over the edge of Kita's halo, holding onto one of the papers. He tapped it on the edge, as if expecting something- though nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" asked Kita.

"I thought it'd be sharp, or maybe spinning… but it's pretty blunt," replied the white-haired boy, this time placing his whole hand on the edge. He blinked after a second then glared at Kita. "I can't believe you didn't notice it before. Geez, girls are _thick_!"

Kita glowered back at him. "So what? I've been able to cut people with it before."

Susumu shook his head. "Probably only if it had enough force behind it, and I bet it wasn't more than a scratch. It's _wind_ chakra, Girly. You said before that you knew wind chakra could be used to form blades."

A light came on in Kita's head as to what he meant- as well as an old memory… Kita's hands tightened a little when she remembered the horror she'd gone through the first time her bloodline had activated. "So, if I was able to, I would be able to use them as replacements for kunai and shuriken?"

"That's one of the ideas I had!" exclaimed Katsuro suddenly, holding out his notebook and pointing to a scribble of a diagram. "Like shuriken, but you could make them different sizes."

Kita considered it. "I wouldn't have to worry about working out the hole-problem with that one at least- just the sharpness and size."

"It's not as easy as you'd think," interrupted Susumu. "Katsuro-sensei has again forgotten the difficulties of living in the real world. Being able to perform it is half the difficulty- you need to be able to do it to perfection."

"So, even though I can do my jutsu, it's still not exactly effective," Kita said quietly. "But, I have no idea how wind chakra works."

"The sharper you can make wind chakra, the more effective it will be." Susumu took his hand off of the halo. "I'm outta here. I've had enough of dealing with brick-headed girls today."

Kita's fists tightened as she watched him stroll off. For a second she contemplated throwing her _Shouheki_ at him to hit him in the head. She resisted the urge, though with difficulty.

"Hmm…" Katsuro caught the girl's attention. He grunted as he pulled on the edge of the halo to make it hover horizontally.

"Katsuro-sensei?" asked Kita.

"Keep it still like that," commanded the man. He tested the middle again with his hand and pushed down. Kita kept her eye on it, not letting it budge or sink. The jounin suddenly put a foot up, pulling himself up onto it and standing.

Kita blinked. She'd… never seen that before… let alone think it was possible. In a way, she immediately was reminded of a certain someone standing on a cloud of sand.

Katsuro fell to the ground as the jutsu dispelled under him, landing on his feet. "Huh? It's gone," he said confusedly, looking over at Kita.

The cat-eared girl gave a little jump, realising she'd lost concentration while she was deep in thought. She went to apologise but the man held up a hand.

"That's enough for today then, or at least I've seen enough." He placed his notepad back in his bag before giving the girl a thumbs up. "You stay here and think more on your jutsu. I'll take care of border patrol today." He turned to Arata. "Hey Jeeves, you come help out too."

"Yes, Yuugino-san," complied Arata, giving a brief bow at Kita before following.

Kita flopped onto her back after the two disappeared from sight. "_Hiton; Enkou Shouheki_." She stared up at the halo with a crooked pout. "I have no idea what to do with you," she told it. "And I'm totally clueless on chakra apart from the basics. But aren't there two ways of using chakra?"

"Form manipulation and nature manipulation, Girly."

Kita stretched her neck back to see Susumu standing over her, hands in pockets. "What are you doing back? I thought you didn't want to hang out with 'brick-headed girls'." She gave him a frown.

Susumu frowned back. "Either you want my help or you don't. What'll it be then?"

_What's he getting at? _Kita asked herself. _Should I say yes, or will he use it as an opportunity to throw it back in my face? _

"Fine," retorted the girl, standing up. "Now what?"

Susumu sighed, his eyes glancing away for a second. "You can cheat, you know."

Kita blinked. "Wait… what do you mean 'cheat?'"

Susumu raised an eyebrow. "I said you can cheat, Girly. You're using two chakra types at once, layering them over each other- and one of those layers is already formed well enough for you to achieve what you want…. But you've got hopeless chakra control- and it's that that is going to prevent you from being able to get at what Katsuro-sensei was thinking of."

Kita raised an eyebrow back at him. Susumu rolled his eyes.

"Let me show you an example then." The white haired boy took a round ball out of a pocket inside his coat. Kita looked at it curiously. "This is a Fireball. It's a lot like an exploding tag, but made from a material specifically designed to work with fire-nature chakra."

He gripped it before throwing it out across the field. It turned into a small explosion in mid-air, sending a cloud of smoke up into the sky. Susumu took another Fireball out. He gripped it again, but this time threw it as far as he could. As it bounced onto the ground, Kita was expecting another small explosion.

She was wrong- she had to look away as she felt a wave of heat wash over her. Chunks of earth flew up as a crater was left in the ground of the field. Kita wiped her forehead.

"Geez, did you have to be so _graphic_?" She gave a crooked smile at Susumu. "It was pretty cool though."

"A girl with a pyromaniac streak? You don't see that everyday…" Susumu rubbed at his nose. "You better have gotten what I was trying to prove though, or else you're outta luck."

"That you're just a pyromaniac with a believable excuse to set stuff on fire, nyan?" Kita smirked.

" Moron," muttered Susumu, "I'm putting a smaller amount of chakra into the first ball than I did the second. The ball is still the same size, but depending on the amount of chakra put into it, the reaction can be more or less effective."

"Oh…" Kita pouted as she thought.

Susumu put his hands in his pockets. "'Oh' indeed. What you need to do is learn how to make the same size, but with less chakra." He shrugged and started to walk off. "_Now _I'm outta here."

"Susumu…?" asked Kita. He glanced back. "Thanks- you're smarter than I thought you were."

The older boy gave a 'hmph'. "Whatever. But I still think you're brick-headed. You're going to have to work even harder for my respect now, Girly," he replied. "Later."

Kita sent a death-stare after him. _I knew he'd do something like that…_ _But at least now I have some idea of what to do._ She dispelled her last halo and took a breath. "Okay, I need to find out how to limit the amount of chakra I put into the jutsu whilst still creating the same size. If I make it flatter, then it should still be able to act like a blade."

She nodded to herself.

_I can do this… and then I'll be one step closer to going back to Suna and not worrying Gaara. …I wonder if he's gotten my letter yet? _

* * *

**A few days later, in the Kazekage's office… **

Gaara glanced up as his office doors flew open. He frowned at his brother, who strolled in and slapped an envelope on the desk.

"It's a letter from your favourite kitty," Kankuro announced with a grin.

The red head observed the envelope quietly for a second before he went back to signing documents.

Kankuro leaned down, a frown on his face. "I would've thought you'd at least reply with something like 'she hates being called that' or 'yes sir, I'll read it right away, sir!' Hell, even a joke about my hat or how much I hate kids would have been fine."

"I'm your superior, I don't call you 'sir'," replied Gaara bluntly, refusing to look up as he continued working. "The letter can wait until I am finished."

_You're hopeless to work with sometimes, bro… _Kankuro turned and secretly rolled his eyes. "Alright then, guess I'll get back to work too then- if that'll make you happy, _sir_."

His brother didn't answer. Kankuro gave up and shut the doors hard behind him. A few seconds later, the scratching sound of the pen halted as it was placed on the desk. A hand slid the envelope across the desk and opened it up. Gaara's eyes skimmed across the words.

_I miss you all…_

"It was a mistake…" he muttered softly.

* * *

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**A/N: **I like lattes… chai lattes.

**Next chapter won't be too long hopefully! **


	55. As Real as it can get

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** And more procrastination from yours truly. Enjoy! Oh, and please read the note at the bottom? Thanks.

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**_Chapter 55: As Real as it can get _**

Rain fell in sheets over Konohagakure, drenching everything and everyone. Arata pulled the tarpaulin off from the plastic crate he had carried up the stairs to Kita's apartment. The plants within looked green and lush- a much different sight from what they had looked like when they had first been brought to him. He paused before knocking softly on the door before him. It swung open with a groan. Kita stood in a pair of pyjamas that seemed too big for her, and looking dreadful with not only terrible bed hair, but bed… fur…? The girl scratched at the puffed up fur on her ears and yawned widely. Arata, caught off guard, felt his eyelid twitch at the sight.

"Oh… morning, Arata," Kita welcomed him sleepily, not noticing his expression. Subconsciously, she licked her hand and rubbed at a cheek.

"Are… you okay, Mitsukai-san?" Arata asked. The girl had dark bags under her eyes.

Kita blinked blearily. "I'm fine… just couldn't sleep last nigh…" She yawned, her balance going a little off as she did. "I've been havin' bad dreams lately- prob'ly trainin' too much…" Her gaze dropped to the ground, seeing Naruto's plants around Arata's feet. "Hinata-chan said you'd be by to drop the… plants off… I'll help you bring 'em in…"

She bent down, but Arata placed a hand on her shoulder quickly.

"Please, let me, Mitsukai-san. You may drop them since you are so tired." He let her get back up and scooped up the pots himself. Kita led him inside to the kitchen, where she sat down and let her head drop onto the tabletop.

"So tired…" she muttered, her eyelids drooping.

Arata placed the pots around the kitchen where they would get some light once the sun finally returned. He watched the rain splatter onto the glass for a moment before he turned back to Kita, seeing her sleeping peacefully. One of her ears twitched slightly as she did. Curiously, Arata edged closer and stretched a hand out to scratch her behind the ear lightly. The girl began to purr quietly as he did.

"Keep doing your best, Mitsukai-san."

"Oh, Arata-san, you're here already."

The burgundy-haired boy swiftly snatched his hand back. Hinata stood in the doorway, looking hesitant about entering. Arata bowed.

"I was about to leave, Hyuuga-san. However, Mitsukai-san seems to have fallen asleep unexpectedly."

Hinata entered and went to inspect the sleeping girl. She crouched down at the tableside. "Kita-chan has been training very hard over the past few days. She wants to become as strong as the Kazekage- can you imagine that?"

"I believe she may achieve that if she trains hard enough," replied Arata. Hinata glanced up at him.

"You're kind, Arata-san. Kita-chan is lucky to have someone who believes in her."

"Do _you_ believe in her, Hyuuga-san?"

Hinata blinked, surprised by the question, and being from Arata at that. She nodded at him. "If a person believes in themself hard enough, they can change. Kita-chan is trying her best to change, and I think she will do that."

"Believing in yourself…" Arata muttered suddenly.

"Arata-san?" asked Hinata, only just catching his voice.

"Yes, Hyuuga-san?" The older boy stiffened and recomposed himself.

Hinata gave him a warm smile. "If you believe hard in yourself, you can change too."

Arata stared down at the girl with her kind smile, surprised by her words. Without realising, he smiled back too.

* * *

Susumu scratched the back of his head and stretched. Border patrol was too quiet today for his liking- the rain had driven everyone inside. Even the normally busy markets were experiencing minimal business. He shook his head, droplets of water flying everywhere from his wet hair. He glanced behind him as he heard footsteps following him on the wall- Arata walked briskly to catch up.

"Where's the girl, I thought she was with you?"

Arata gave his usual greeting bow. "Mitsukai-san was too exhausted to be able to attend today, Aitou-san."

"Geez, nice timing, Girly," he grumbled to himself. "And we're the only team on border patrol today too."

"Mitsukai-san has been training extensively over the past week," Arata replied. "She may not have enjoyed coming today with the rain."

Susumu grunted angrily. "So what? I do that all the time, _and_ I still do border patrol on top of that. What makes her so special?"

Arata didn't answer. The pair walked in silence, with only the sound of rain falling around them. Susumu turned suddenly, grabbing Arata by his jacket. The other boy only blinked.

"For the past few days it's all been 'Mitsukai-san this', and 'Mitsukai-san that' with you. What the hell is wrong with you? I've never seen you so talkative about someone since… since…" He gritted his teeth, unable to bring himself to saying what he wanted. Instead, he pushed Arata away.

The burgundy-haired boy gave a rare frown. "Aitou-san, I realise she is not Nikkou-chan."

"Then why the hell does it feel like it?" Susumu balled his hands into fists for a second, glancing down over the village side of the wall. "She's nothing like Nikkou-chan. Nikkou-chan was a lady… a real lady… That_ other _girl punched me in the face as soon as we met."

"Aitou-san, do you remember the first meetings we had with those other girls Tsunade-sama sent us?" asked Arata.

Susumu glanced over, his expression still heated. "No, so what?"

"That is the point," his team mate replied. Quickly, he bowed and passed by him to continue border patrol, leaving Susumu to stand alone.

"The point?" he repeated to himself irritably. "Just because I can't remem…"

He paused.

_They never _did_ leave much of an impression on me, did they? Not like Nikkou-chan… or _her…

Gingerly, he rubbed at the spot on his face where Kita had punched him.

* * *

**The Hyuuga Compound…**

_Rain… there'll be less work today then…_ Hyuuga Neji stared up at the sky. It was empty of birds as the grey clouds hung over the village ominously. The chuunin shook his hand free of water after letting the rain drip onto his palm. The sound of feet splashing through puddles grabbed his attention- Hinata ran towards the veranda, desperate to escape the wet.

She reached the platform and turned to shake her umbrella dry. Neji's mouth twitched in a smile as he took notice of the umbrella, bright pink with a pair of rabbit ears sticking out of the top.

"Hinata-sama."

The girl turned, smiling brightly. "Oh, Neji-nii-san, good morning!"

Neji looked at her strangely. "You're in a very good mood today. Did Uzumaki Naruto return from his trip already?"

Hinata blushed at the name, but shook her head. "No, I just went to visit Kita-chan…" Her eyes widened suddenly as her cousin's brow twitched. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth. Internally, Hinata told herself off for doing something so thoughtlessly.

Neji frowned at her and stepped closer. "Hinata-sama… is that the same 'Kita' as in the one that destroyed the Chuunin Exams?"

The girl looked down at the wooden planks nervously and nodded. It was nearly impossible to hide anything from Neji- even trying to keep it a secret would have made him go out to try and find out the answer himself. The last thing Hinata wanted was some kind of confrontation.

"I thought I had heard rumours… Hinata-sama, you shouldn't be associating yourself with such people," he warned her.

Hinata suddenly stared up at him with a determined look. "But you don't know Kita-chan, Neji-nii-san. She's kind and works very hard, because she wants to change."

"But Hinata-sama…" Neji stopped, feeling his cousin's stare pierce into him. In a way, it reminded him of the same look a certain blond-haired boy had once given him before. _If people try hard enough, they can change… _

Hinata felt a wave of relief wash over her as he shook his head.

"Hinata-sama, I only wish for you to be safe."

The girl smiled at him. "I know, Neji-nii-san. But I think I can make my own decisions now, and I trust that Kita-chan isn't the same person we saw at the Chuunin Exams." She turned to her pocket and pulled out a small tin. "I bumped into Arata-san while I was there too and he gave me some tea. Would you like some?"

Neji nodded after thinking her words over. "I would love some."

* * *

**Hokage**** Tower****… Tsunade's office…**

"Tch, why am I always the one she calls whenever she needs accounting done? Can't she get someone else to do it?" Shikamaru gave a loud sigh and arched his head back, silently cursing at the ceiling. Though he couldn't see it, he could hear the rain pounding on the glass behind him. Piles of paperwork surrounded the desk, enough of it to block the windows from view.

"You're not the only one, Shikamaru-kun!" Shizune popped her head out from where one of the piles had toppled over. She gasped for breath. "Tsunade-sama is very behind in organising the budget, and hasn't approved anything- including money for hiring accountants."

The spiky-haired chuunin groaned and tossed his pen into the unknown depths of the paper sea. "This is too troublesome. I'm a chuunin, not a calculator!"

"As long as you work as a chuunin for Konoha, you'll also be a calculator, Nara Shikamaru." Stacks of papers crashed to the ground. Shikamaru yelped in pain as his ear was pinched by a pair of sharp fingernails. Tsunade's brow twitched as she glared down at the young chuunin.

"Tsunade-sama! How long have you been here?" exclaimed Shizune, wading through the paper towards the desk.

The older woman put a fist on her hip. Shizune noticed a bottle of sake in her hand.

"You were hiding behind the paper and drinking again, weren't you, Tsunade-sama?" asked Shizune with a sigh.

"As a matter of fact, no," replied the Hokage with an indignant sniff. "This is a gift from a friend."

Shikamaru glanced up irritably. "Where is this "friend" then?" He gave a twitch as Tsunade pinched his ear harder.

The Hokage let go and started to wade into the paperwork. "Nayamu?" A muffled cry came from nearby and Tsunade pulled another woman out.

"Oh thank goodness…" panted the woman. "I thought I was done for!"

"You're not that old, Nayamu, act your age."

"I could very well say the same thing about you, Tsunade-_senpai_." The other woman folded her arms and gave her a patronising look.

Tsunade stared back at the woman with an equally condescending look.

Shikamaru rubbed at his ear, his eyes darting between the two. The other woman, Nayamu, looked to be in her forties at the very least. She dressed traditionally, wearing a dark green yukata and her brown hair done in a simple bun. By her attitude, Shikamaru felt like there was almost another Tsunade in the room.

Nayamu blinked when she saw Shizune. Instantly, she swept the young woman up into a hug. "Shizune-chan! It's been so long since I've seen you! My, you've grown into such a pretty young lady."

Shizune winced, feeling her bones crack under the woman's crushing hug. "It's… nice to see you too, Nayamu-san!"

"Oh, and who's this?" The woman dropped Shizune into the sea of paperwork and waded over to the desk. She bent down, studying Shikamaru's face. "Such a handsome young man- I bet all the girls are after this one." She gave a grin as Shikamaru blushed.

"Pheh, hardly," snorted Tsunade. She turned to Shikamaru. "This is Nayamu, Shikamaru. She is a close friend of mine from my childhood. She used to be a shinobi for Konoha as well. So treat her with respect."

"Since _I_ am friends with Tsunade, she has agreed to personally help handle my problem." She flashed a V-sign at Shikamaru.

_Tsunade-sama has some… weird friends…_ thought the chuunin. _Though, I'm actually surprised she had any friends at all…_

Shizune swam her way out of the paper pile she had been dropped into. "What is the problem, Nayamu-san?"

The woman sighed, shaking her head sadly. "It's my ex-husband, Kotou; he passed away a few months ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that!" replied Shizune, her tone full of sympathy.

Nayamu waved her hands rapidly. "No, no, it's fine. You see, he was… rather horrible…"

"I told you not to marry that man," interrupted Tsunade crossly, "I told you he wasn't trustworthy- working for the Gatou Company and robbing all those poor people."

"You said that about all my boyfriends," replied Nayamu. "It's just this time you were right."

Tsunade sighed and patted the woman on the shoulder. "What's wrong then, Nayamu?"

"It's Kotou; he's back. I was just getting on with my life, and now he's back." She stared Tsunade in the eyes. "I need Konoha's help. I've tried everything, but he keeps coming back."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Keeps coming back? But you said he was dead- what is he, some kind of ghost?"

Nayamu nodded. "Exactly."

"…You've got to be kidding me," muttered the chuunin. He flinched when the woman gave him a deep glare.

"I'm exactly right. I've tried everything, from psychics to exorcists and he's still in my house!" Nayamu's hands balled into fists. She punched at a stack of paperwork, making it fall over and create more mess. "I want him out of my house and out of my life!"

Tsunade looked around awkwardly. "Nayamu, are you _sure_ it's a ghost? You know we don't exactly handle those sorts of things- unless there was enough evidence to suggest there's some kind of human involvement."

"I saw a lot of things when I was a ninja, and this isn't like anything I've seen before, Tsunade," replied the woman with a frown. "And even the people who have tried to help me have said they've never seen anything like this before either."

"I don't quite understand, Nayamu-san," said Shizune inquiringly. "What's so different about it?"

"This is no normal ghost, it's a violent one," she explained. "The psychics and exorcists were simply not able to help me- they were chased out. And he's gotten more and more violent each time. People are starting to get hurt, and I'm worried to even go back home. I need your help... please?"

The Hokage pinched the bridge of her nose. "Nayamu, we can't handle this sort of thing. We deal with the problems of the living, not the dead- unless they were able to pay us well."

"Tsunade-sama," interrupted Shizune suddenly. The woman looked over questioningly. "I thought we did have someone who can deal with the problems of the dead?"

Tsunade blinked before it came to her. "Kita?"

"Kita?" repeated Shikamaru and Nayamu at the same time- though Shikamaru's expression was one more of worry than curiosity.

"Kita-chan can do it! I'm sure she'd like to do a proper mission too." Shizune paused. "Though, from the reports that I have heard from her sensei, she has been rather wiped out from all the training she has been doing lately."

Tsunade frowned and turned to her childhood friend. "Nayamu, I will organise a team to go with you, if you can wait until tomorrow morning."

Nayamu nodded. "Yes, that should be okay. But… a whole team?"

"Yes, but don't worry. They'll mostly be genin anyway. Except for their leader…" Tsunade smirked and gave a dark look at Shikamaru. "You said you didn't want to do the accounting, did you, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru groaned and thumped his head on top of the desk. _Great, just great… _

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

_Achoo!_

Kita sat up in bed as she sneezed loudly. She rubbed at her nose.

"Erg… I'm getting bad vibes…" she muttered. "Or a cold…" She flopped back down into bed and curled up. Darkness enveloped her as she fell to sleep…

* * *

Hands fumbled around in the darkness as Kita tried to find her way around. Her fingers only touched air though as she sort desperately for some kind of feature in the unseeable landscape. But the darkness didn't let go of any secrets, no matter how far she walked- and it seemed like forever.

"Where am I? Let me out!"

_Kita… wake up. _

"Shinigami-sama? Is that you?" Kita whirled around frantically. Her head started to hurt suddenly, like it was being squeezed. She tumbled to the ground, unable to hold herself up any longer.

_Kita… wake up sweetie…_

* * *

Kita rubbed her eyes, then froze. There was someone sitting on the end of her bed, dressed in a black cloak. That wasn't the only person though, as Kita registered the familiar sight of pale spirits gathering around her room, a feeling of desperation about them.

"What is this?" she demanded. Her second sight didn't just turn on by itself.

The figure at the end of her bed stood up.

"You've all been waiting a long time…" the person muttered. "It's time to rest."

The spirits glowed as the figure held a hand out. A feeling of freedom radiated throughout the room as they vanished. Kita blinked, watching the remnants sparkle in the darkness.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around for you, Kita. I didn't mean for things to go like this." The figure folded their hood back.

It seemed like a dream… it just had to be. Kita's vision trembled as tears flooded her eyes. She quickly wiped the tears away, not wanting to lose sight of what was before her.

"Dad…"

"Hello, Kita." Hissori smiled down at his daughter.

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Um… I wonder if I can ask a favour… just this once? If everyone who read this chapter could leave a review. I really do want to know what people have been thinking of the story so far, and I really do appreciate all the feedback I get. If you could leave a review, even anonymously, I would be so grateful.


	56. To the Mystery Ma Cart?

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** I want to say a BIG thanks to everyone who gave me a review last chapter. Your support has been much more than I anticipated and I'm feeling all inspired again! TTA has been a story long in the making, and probably the longest project I've ever worked on. I'm surprised that I've been able to continue it for so long since I'm not exactly one to have a long attention span…

But anyway, thank you again for your lovely remarks. And please, don't be afraid to give me any criticism in the future (especially if I start to seem like I'm losing the plot again!). Suggestions are always welcome, especially in regard to the characters. I promise to keep trying my absolute best though so hopefully I can only keep improving and bring you even better stuff!

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 56: To the Mystery Ma-Cart? _**

"Dad!" Kita leapt out of bed towards her father. But as she went to hug him, it was like touching water. She could hardly grip onto him.

Hissori crouched down, trying his best to hold his daughter back. "I've missed you so much," he whispered.

"You went away… you went and did something stupid. You didn't have to, Dad." Tears dripped down Kita's cheeks. "You didn't have to do that for me."

Her father held a hand to her cheek, attempting to wipe the tears away, but having his hand pass through. "I did it because I love you. I wasn't going to let you die when you had so much before you. Not after I promised your mother I'd take care of you."

"Did… have you seen her?" asked Kita, wiping the tears away herself for him.

Hissori nodded. "Yes, I see her sometimes. Shinigami-sama keeps us all busy though… He's one of the reasons I came to see you. We've been trying to contact you for a while now, but since you haven't been using your abilities, Shinigami-sama had to activate them himself."

"That's why I've been having bad dreams lately?" Kita sighed. "I'm sorry... that I haven't been using them. But, since what happened, I don't even know if I can use them anymore. I don't want to find out either."

"I was afraid of that…" replied Hissori. He gave Kita a stern look. "You need to use them, sweetie. If you want to survive, you're going to have to learn to use them- even if you don't like it. I don't want you to be unprepared."

Kita frowned. "But…"

"No," interrupted her father. "Kita, when the Nekomata tried to merge you with it and that Araiki boy broke you free, you took some of the bijuu with you. If you trained, you would be able to eventually use some of the same powers. If you were able to make yourself stronger like the Nekomata did, then you stand a better chance."

"Nibi made itself stronger through eating other people's souls! I'm not like that!" replied Kita, stepping back and shaking her head. "I don't want to be like Nibi! Not after what it tried to make me do…"

"Kita, _you're_ the one in control this time, not the Nekomata." He frowned as he tried to hold her gaze on him. "_You_ can make different decisions. You don't have to be Nibi to be able to do what it does. Please don't waste this chance."

Kita sat down onto her bed and buried her head in her hands. "But I'm scared, Dad. I don't like death."

"Sweetie, death isn't something you should fear. You already know what the other side is like. Was it really so scary?"

Kita didn't speak for a minute as she thought it over. "…No, not really," she finally muttered. Glancing up, she saw her father looking like he expected another answer as well. "I'll think about it," she told him.

Hissori smiled. "Good. Remember Kita, I'm always thinking about you. I don't want you here for any other reason than old age, you got me?"

His daughter nodded slowly. "Alright, Dad…"

"I have faith in you, sweetie. And you have nothing to fear, even if you don't make it. I'll still be proud." He wiped at his own tears.

"I won't fail," replied Kita, standing up. "I'll make you really proud, I promise."

"That's my girl…" Her father gave one last smile as he faded away.

Kita touched at the air where he had just been standing. "_Really_ proud…"

* * *

**In the morning… **

_Wonder what Tsunade-sama wants me for? _Kita asked herself as she walked with Hinata down the street towards Hokage Tower. She glanced over at the Hyuuga. "She didn't say what she wanted?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, she didn't, but she wanted me to fetch you. That's all I know."

"I've got a bad feeling," Kita mumbled as they entered the tower. They trudged up the staircase towards the office.

"What's going on?" asked Hinata as they approached the top flight. Tsunade was leaning against the doors of her office, an impatient look on her face; though after looking at the sheets of paper poking out of the door cracks, it seemed more like she was under strain.

"Tsunade-sama let the paperwork build up," grumbled a spiky-haired boy in a chuunin jacket. He raised an eyebrow at Kita before turning towards Hinata.

Hinata blinked. "Oh, Shikamaru-kun, this is Kita-chan."

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes, I know that. We've somewhat already met."

"Shikamaru-kun…?" Kita thought for a second. "Ah, I remember, Temari told me about you. She said she saved you once."

The chuunin frowned and turned his head away. "Hmph, I wasn't going too badly before she turned up."

Kita looked at him confusedly. "That's not what she told me."

"Women, so troublesome," Shikamaru muttered quietly. He ignored Kita's look as she caught him say it.

Tsunade's brow twitched. She placed more of her back against the doors. "We're still one person short. You _did_ inform him, didn't you, Shikamaru? I don't want any slacking off from you."

"He'll be here shortly," replied the chuunin. He sighed inwardly. _Not that he seemed very enthusiastic about it either when I told him. _

* * *

**Arata's house… **

The doorbell rang furiously until Arata answered it.

"Aitou-san?" he asked. The white-haired boy was panting heavily. He recomposed himself quickly and gave a look between irritation and desperation.

"You… gotta do me a favour," he stated.

Arata wasn't too sure what to do. It was surprising enough that Susumu was even here- he hadn't visited in years, and now he was asking for a favour? He hadn't quite asked for one of those in years either. "What do you need, Aitou-san?"

"Some of that stuff you used the other week on the girl- catnap, catnip, or whatever the hell it is. I need it right away."

"Is Mitsukai-san in trouble?" asked Arata, a touch of concern in his voice.

Susumu shook his head, looking even more irritated. "No, but I need some right now!"

Arata took a step back. "Please wait a moment then, Aitou-san. I'll be right back."

Susumu frowned. _This is hardly my idea of a good mission- getting ordered around by a chuunin younger than me and being in the vicinity of both the girl _and_ the Hyuuga clan's heir. Geez…_

His team mate returned a minute later with a sealed packet full of leaves. Susumu grabbed it and started to turn. He paused and looked over his shoulder. "…Thanks." He took off.

Arata stood in the doorway, his hand still up in the air from where he had been holding the packet out. "_Thanks_?"

* * *

Susumu raced up the stairs of Hokage Tower, coming face to face with Tsunade as she glared down at him.

The woman grumbled to herself, wishing that her sake wasn't buried in her office. "Finally, you're all here," she said. "Shikamaru, tell them the mission."

" Mission?" Kita and Hinata looked up.

"Wait, I'm on a mission… with _him_?" asked Kita, pointing at Susumu.

"Yeah, I'm not too thrilled either, Girly," retorted the older boy, crossing his arms.

Hinata blinked. "Girly?" she asked quietly. Kita sighed in response.

Shikamaru gave them all a deadpan look. "I'm not happy either, but we're going to have to cooperate to get this mission done." Seeing Kita and Hinata's clueless expressions, he explained, "It's an exorcism."

Kita stared at him blankly as it sunk in. _Wait… Dad, did you know this was coming?_ Her eye twitched.

"Kita-chan?" Hinata glanced over at her.

"I've never done an exorcism before in my life," she said bluntly.

"Tsunade-sama assured the client that you had though," replied Shikamaru irritably. He looked over at the Hokage, who seemed troubled.

The cat-eared girl frowned. "I can't exactly open the door and expect it walk right on through," she told them.

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched. "Then push it through!" she growled, her heels sliding across the floor slightly. "I promised Nayamu that you would fix her problem."

"Who's Nayamu?" asked Kita.

"Nayamu-_san_, our client, and an old friend of Tsunade-sama's," explained Shikamaru.

"Come on, Girly, you seriously can't be that weak. You're going to let a _ghost_ get the better of you?" Susumu sneered.

Kita glared at him. She thought back to the night before and her father's words. "Fine then," she replied. "I guess I won't know until I've tried."

"That's great then," said Tsunade, giving a shaky grin. She dug her heels into the carpet. "Now get lost, Nayamu is waiting for you all at the gates. Shikamaru will explain more of the situation on the way." She sent them all a dark glare as they paused. "I said get out of here."

The new team quickly descended the stairs. As they reached the first floor, they heard a crash and the sounds of someone swearing furiously. Shikamaru put a palm to his forehead and shook his head.

"Tch, now I'm definitely glad I didn't stay."

"Shikamaru-kun, what are the details of this mission?" asked Hinata as they continued on.

Their leader sighed. "The ghost of Nayamu-san's ex-husband has been haunting her house for sometime now. She came to Konoha as a last resort to get rid of him. Luckily, we had someone who could _potentially_ fix the problem."

"I _said_ I'll try…" muttered Kita. "But why does Susumu have to come?"

"I was wondering the same thing too, Girly. I'm not your keeper." He looked down his nose at her for a second. He glanced over at Hinata, who jumped a little. "You must be Hyuuga Hinata-san; it's nice to meet you."

Hinata timidly supplied a quick hello in return. Kita gave a quiet complain about her team mate's sudden politeness, glaring at him as she did.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes- things were going to be rather dysfunctional… not that he hadn't already gotten enough of that from the other teams in his year. "Kita, I chose Susumu to join us since you both know each other- it makes it easier for the team to work, as opposed to if I chose someone you didn't know."

_Though I seriously doubt that now,_ he thought to himself.

"Why am I here too, Shikamaru-kun?" asked Hinata curiously.

"Of all those with scouting ability, yours would be the most effective for this situation," explained the chuunin. "Although he would be useless, Kiba is not exactly somebody you'd want to bring along on a ghost-hunt either."

Hinata gave a smile of embarrassment. "Kiba-kun and Akamaru-kun are a little loud… and they may not have taken to Kita-chan either. Oh, Akamaru-kun is Kiba-kun's dog," she said when she saw Kita's expression.

"I don't like dogs…" Kita's ears flattened. _Unless they're named Araiki…_ she nodded to herself. Her ears perked up again as she saw a woman waving at them rather wildly.

"Shikamaru-chan! And you brought your little school-friends!" The woman grinned as the team approached.

Shikamaru didn't seem very impressed. As they neared, Kita's nose could pick the smell of sake on her breath. Though, it was also pretty obvious that she had been drinking, judging from the redness of her cheeks and her swaying stance.

"Great," muttered Susumu. "We're escorting a booze-hound."

"Oh, you're a handsome one too!" giggled the woman, lifting Susumu's chin up with a finger. The white-haired boy looked around awkwardly. The woman teetered and tripped onto Kita and Hinata. The two girls grabbed her around the arms to stop her from falling.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his neck as he went to make sure she was okay. He sighed. "She's passed out."

"Some start," groaned Susumu. "How are we supposed to find our way to her place now?"

"Luckily she circled it on a map. It's some farming cottage out to the south-east," replied Shikamaru. He shook his head when he saw Kita and Hinata struggling to keep the drunken woman up. "I'll go rent a cart."

* * *

**A few hours later…**

"Geez, how far away do we have to go?" asked Susumu, leaning back in the cart and staring up at the sky.

"Nayamu-san's house shouldn't be too far from now," replied Shikamaru. He glanced down at the map in his lap as he drove the cart. A few more hills to pass over and they'd be at the right town.

Hinata passed her canteen of water to Nayamu. The woman gulped it down eagerly and groaned.

"Damn that Tsunade…" she croaked, putting a hand to her forehead. "I forgot how good she was at drinking games… but at least I won all her money playing poker. Legendary Sucker indeed…"

"She can gamble to her heart's content, just as long as it doesn't include my salary," commented Susumu. "That woman can be a pain."

Shikamaru gave an unexpected smirk at him. "Agreed- she's troublesome."

Nayamu groaned again and covered her eyes from the sun.

"It's lucky that it's sunny today," said Hinata in an attempt to change the subject. If their client reported what they'd said to Tsunade… Hinata tried to smile despite her worry.

"I hate the rain," muttered Kita. She glanced up at the sky while her fingers were busy braiding her own hair in boredom. "Somehow, the rain only brings sadness."

"If it didn't rain, we'd probably all be dead, Girly," replied Susumu snidely. "You do know how the water cycle works, right?"

Kita glared at him. "Of course I do. And I didn't say that we shouldn't have it- I just said I don't like it."

"Yeah whatever, Girly- just next time think before you open your big mouth." Susumu sneered at her.

"I've got a headache!" snapped Nayamu suddenly. In swift motion she hit the two of them over the head. "What are you; ninja or whiny five year olds? Sheesh…"

Susumu and Kita complained loudly as they rubbed the lumps on their heads. Hinata's fingers tapped together nervously. Shikamaru sighed in relief- finally; the last hill gave way to the sight of a large mansion surrounded by farms. Shikamaru's brow twitched.

"It can't be…" he muttered, glancing back down at the map. The mark on the map was right in the middle of where the house was indicated. "Nayamu-san, we're here?"

Nayamu sat up again. Before anyone could blink, the woman had leapt onto the front seat and had taken over the reigns, shoving Shikamaru into the back while she was at it.

"Yeeha! I can't wait to take a bath!"

The cart gave a jerk as the horse started to gallop madly with Nayamu behind it, whipping the reigns up and down for all they were worth. The four ninja in the back clung on for dear life.

"Nayamu-san! Slow down!" hollered Shikamaru.

* * *

**A few minutes of sheer terror later… **

"This place is huge…" Kita gaped and stared up at the top of the house. The mansion blocked the sun from view, casting a long and daunting shadow over them.

Hinata picked a piece of grass from her hair, still shaken up from the horrifying experience. "It's bigger than my family's compound," she whispered.

Nayamu placed her fists on her hips and glared at the place. "Damn, I was looking forward to a bath and I forgot about Kotou. No doubt he's turned closet pervert in death. It'd suit him to do that to me, the bastard."

Secretly behind her, Shikamaru rolled his eyes- this wasn't going to be the best mission he'd ever done.

"Hey, what's with the over-glorified cottage?" asked Susumu with a jerk of his thumb towards the place.

"It was my father's," replied Nayamu. She rubbed at her temples for a second. "He set up a farm here and gradually expanded. It's not just me that lives here, but all of the workers too… until Kotou's ghost appeared. He scared everyone away."

"Nayamu-san," interrupted Shikamaru. His eyes surveyed the building closely. "This farm of your's is pretty prosperous, right?"

The woman nodded. "Of course, which is why I also had suspicions that Kotou had plans to murder me and take the farm over. He would have been able to give quite a lot of financial backing to the Gatou Company if he had."

Shikamaru listened and thought it over. "Then my own suspicions could be correct then. Even if Kotou is truly dead or not, the plans to have you assassinated may still be in place."

"But then why go to all the trouble of pretending it's a ghost?" asked Hinata. "Whoever it is could have killed Nayamu-san anyway."

"Probably to clear the place of witnesses," muttered Susumu, "or maybe they planned to scare off the workers so they could bring their own in after. Slaves would be much cheaper."

Nayamu glared at each of them. "Stupid kids- don't you think that was the first thing I thought of when things started to happen? I was once a ninja too. But this I've never seen before in my life."

Kita's brow furrowed as she thought. "Nayamu-san, what exactly _have_ you seen?"

The woman closed her eyes, tapping a finger on her chin. "It started a few months ago with strange noises. I didn't think much of it until things started to get really strange. The workers started to report things like their equipment disappearing. Eventually it got worse- things started being thrown around. Quite a few people got hurt then… and we had to take them to the hospital."

"It sounds like a poltergeist," said Kita suddenly. She sighed in relief. "Well, I suppose that's not too bad. All they do is throw stuff around."

Nayamu gave her a bop over the head. "Don't interrupt! And it's not a poltergeist either- the exorcists thought it was that too, but it couldn't just be that with what else it's been doing."

"Huh?" Kita blinked. "What… else it's been doing?"

"After the first exorcist I called in gave up, it got worse. There were strange lights in the middle of the night. People said that sometimes when they were sleeping they suddenly woke up feeling like they were being choked. Each day more and more workers suddenly couldn't get out of bed because they had come down with some mysterious illness. The doctors said it was just like chakra exhaustion, but my workers have never been ninja." Nayamu shook her head. "Neither I nor anyone I called in could make any sense of it. After that, all the workers left. It was getting too dangerous for them."

The team glanced over at the house. Suddenly it seemed more ominous than before…

"Well, let's get inside then!" announced Nayamu, seemingly having to forgotten the problem at hand. "I'm taking a bath whether or not if there are perverted ghosts in the house!"

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Yeah, I'm an old Scooby Doo fan… if you got the reference. But I think I'll kick it up into Ghostbuster-mode next time, shweet.

Oh and once again, thanks!

**Jinkies! It's time to kick some serious butt! **


	57. Dreading the Unseen

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Bleh, sorry this one took a while. I had a bit of writer's block! And sorry Clark- I sent you the chapter to beta, but you didn't reply back for a little while and I got impatient. Sorry!!!

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 57: Dreading the Unseen _**

Nayamu opened the front door with a bang, as though she was hoping to hit some unknown stalker behind it. She strode in, sliding open each door to check inside each room along the hallway. The group following her looked around, observing their surrounds. The house had traditional design on the inside, a much different look from the outside. The wood and paper frame door slid shut with a clack as Nayamu continued along. At the end of the hallway, they reached a set of stairs. Nayamu stopped and turned, glancing at Shikamaru and Susumu suspiciously.

"You two patrol the upper levels for a while the girls and I have a bath. The last thing we need on top of a peeping ghost is a couple of peeping toms." She placed her hands on her hips and glanced at the girls. "Come on then, I need you to keep an eye out as well."

"Geez, who does she think we are- the guy that writes the Icha Icha books?" Susumu muttered as they came to the top flight.

"She probably knows that the guy who writes those books is also a ninja," Shikamaru replied, earning a strange look from Susumu. The chuunin slid open a few doors to check inside. Most of them seemed to be sleeping quarters for the workers. Apart from the fact that the rooms had been left in a mess -probably from quick departures- there was nothing too out of the ordinary. Shikamaru frowned. "I'm still not convinced."

Susumu looked in on one of the rooms, picking a discarded shirt for a second before flinging it away. "Our client acts too paranoid for your liking, huh? Or you just don't believe in ghosts?"

"I believe in ghosts," retorted Shikamaru. He tapped on the walls, listening for a hollow spot but finding none. "But I also believe in more logical explanations. The possibility of Nayamu-san having a potential assassin after her outweighs the possibility of a ghost trying to spook her." He glanced back at the older boy. "What about you? Do you believe in ghosts?"

"What's not to believe? If there can be things like giant demon foxes that destroy entire mountains with a wave of their tail, then why not something simple like a ghost?" Susumu started up the next flight of stairs. "And either the girl down there is seeing ghosts or it's all in her head."

"I don't doubt Kita's ability, but we still need a back-up plan in case Nayamu-san is wrong," said Shikamaru. "I don't want anything to go wrong on this mission."

Susumu shrugged. "Still, I'll believe it when I see it."

* * *

**At the baths…**

Kita's eyes glanced around the large bathroom. Normally it would have been full at this time with the female employees, but now it was almost creepy to be in such a huge empty space. She sunk down lower into the still water, blowing bubbles from her nose as she grumbled. Even something as simple as a bath could become a complex situation- it was bad enough having a bath knowing there could be some kind of ghost around, but after Nayamu's stern warning to the boys, Kita had felt her paranoia almost skyrocket.

"Nayamu-san, what do you think your ex-husband's ghost wants to do with you?" asked Hinata suddenly. The dark-haired girl seemed worried.

Nayamu sighed after a brief second. "Actually, I have no idea if it is or not… I've never even seen the ghost."

Hinata blinked. "But… then why…?"

"It's just a feeling," replied Nayamu with a slight shudder. The emptiness of the bathroom, perhaps even the entire house, had seemed to have finally settled in. "But, there is a possibility it may not be, right?" She looked over Kita's way.

The girl nodded and sat back up. "It could be any number of things. I'm hoping it's just a restless spirit throwing a few things around though."

"What about what Nayamu-san said about the mysterious illness, Kita-chan? What could have caused that?" The veins around Hinata's eyes were bulging slightly, the girl having activated her Byakugan. The nervousness seemed to have affected her too.

Kita thought about it and shook her head. "I still can't exactly place something with it. A lot of different spirits and creatures spread illnesses if they live in a place long enough…" She chewed on her bottom lip. _Even a Nekomata is supposed to bring illness…_

Nayamu took her towel off from around her head and wrapped it around herself. "There's no way to know until you've seen it then. We may need to wait for it to appear."

Kita nodded. "There's nothing more I can do until we find out what it is. Hopefully it will be curious about our presence and we'll be able to catch it."

"So was it the Nibi that taught you about ghosts then, Kita?"

The girl blinked and looked up. Her ears drooped slightly, making the woman raise an eyebrow at her. "Yes, but… I'd rather not say more…" she mumbled.

Nayamu continued to stare in silence for a few more seconds. Hinata coughed, catching her attention.

"Um, Nayamu-san, are the boys also going to have a bath? We shouldn't keep them waiting." The dark-haired girl gave a timid smile.

The woman walked for the changing room. "Of course, I can't have them dirtying up my house more than they should. The upper levels are fine for getting messy, but I need to keep the downstairs areas clean at the very least." She turned and gave another stare at the two. "That's why I want you to be careful when you go about catching this ghost. Got it?"

Hinata and Kita traded a quick glance between themselves.

* * *

**Later…**

"So there was nothing upstairs?" asked Hinata as the boys descended the stairs. Kita stopped beside her. Nayamu had already left the bath earlier to prepare dinner.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Nothing, just abandoned dorms- and no signs of any forced or hidden entries either."

"You think there might actually be a ghost then?" Hinata seemed to stare blankly, though the concentration on her face showed she was looking through the house. She shook her head as she acknowledged she could see nothing within her range either.

"Like it or not, the probability has grown greater," he replied with a grumble. He changed his gaze to Kita. "We'll be depending on you to alert us then."

Kita nodded at him. "I thought it would be better if we stayed together and waited for it to come to us. Searching for it would be a waste of energy."

Susumu gave a grumble. "For once, I gotta agree with Girly. We could be searching for it and for all we could know, it's out in the fields somewhere. If it's interested in finding people, then let it find us." He sniffed at the air and started towards the kitchen. "It had just better not find us during dinner though."

Nayamu leaned out of the doorway to the kitchen and waved a wooden spoon at him. "Not until you two have a bath, got it?"

Shikamaru and Susumu both frowned simultaneously. Nayamu shook the spoon at them again threateningly.

"Whatever," muttered Susumu, turning away and storming back down the hallway. Shikamaru sighed and followed, feeling his stomach give a slight growl as he did.

Kita felt her own stomach grumble. In the mess of that morning, she hadn't had time for anything to eat. And the sun was started to set as well- definitely dinner time now. Kita walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. Hinata wandered in behind her.

Nayamu kneeled next to an irori, fanning at the flames under it to keep it alight. "Come on! Don't jerk around with me just because I'm not the usual cook!"

"Nayamu-san?" Hinata tilted her head as she tried to look in on what was wrong. "Would you like it if…"

"You cook? Oh you're such a sweetie, Hinata!" Nayamu shoved the wooden spoon she had been holding into Hinata's hand and scurried away. "Just going to do a few things!" she called from the hallway.

Hinata blinked and looked down at the spoon in her hand. Sighing, she went to attend to the hearth.

"That wasn't fair," said Kita. She frowned as she sat down on the opposite side. Nayamu had set out a number of vegetables for a stew, but only half had been prepared so far. Hinata had set to work on the remains. Kita quickly picked up a half-done carrot and placed it before her. She put her hands into a familiar seal and created a small Shouheki.

"Did you learn that while you were training, Kita-chan?" Hinata looked over curiously.

Kita nodded. "Yeah, I've been trying to learn how to get better chakra control. This is just the first step, learning how to control the size."

"Have you gone any further than that?"

The cat-eared girl pouted thoughtfully. "I've been trying, but it's tricky. Now I'm trying to learn to control how sharp I can make it by thinning it out." Her frown deepened as she positioned the small halo over the top of a carrot and tried to cut. It got stuck. Kita grumbled and dispelled it, creating a new on in its stead. She placed it higher this time, throwing it down with force. It dug in a little deeper this time, but not much. Kita sighed and tried again, gaining the same results. "It feels all so randomised…"

"Keep trying," offered Hinata with a hopeful smile. She checked the flames under the pot. "Maybe you should try not creating it all at once?"

"Hmm?" Kita glanced up, her hands still in mid-pose.

Hinata gave it some thought, staring down at the flames in the irori. "Well, you could do your jutsu normally, and then take away what isn't needed. That way you can see what you're doing instead of having to guess when you first create it."

Kita's ears drooped. She gave Hinata a blank look and plonked a palm onto her forehead, shaking her head. "I feel like a moron now."

"Please don't think that way, Kita-chan." Hinata gave her a worried look. "Sometimes it takes a different person to see another way around something."

Kita gave her a crooked smile in response. "I'm not very good at thinking things through before I do them, so sometimes I find myself depending on people. I came to Konoha because I wanted to learn how to depend on myself, but it's almost like I can't do that." She stared down at uncut vegetables on the board before her. _It's a funny thing,_ she thought. _Now that I look back on things, even before Nibi's plans got derailed, I've been a lot like it. Nibi used to tell me that it used to turn into a young girl and depend a lot on people. I know I don't do it for my own amusement like it did, but it's still so creepy how many similarities there are. _

The wood in the fire popped and crackled. Bubbles rose from the pot above it as the stew cooked.

"It's okay to ask for help sometimes, Kita-chan," said Hinata suddenly. Kita blinked and looked up. Hinata smiled at her. "Being alone is something nobody should have to go through. When you have people that care for you, they can help make you stronger."

"Is that why you're so strong, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata had to giggle at that. Kita tilted her head at her, wondering if she had said something wrong. The dark-haired girl shook her head.

"Sorry…" she apologised. Her cheeks were going red. "It's… it's just that that's something I don't hear very often."

"That doesn't sound too nice," replied Kita.

The door slid open suddenly. Susumu stuck his head in and sniffed at the air.

"Damn, I'm starving," he groaned and stumbled to sit next to the pot.

"It's not done yet, Susumu-san," replied Hinata. She stirred at the pot, watching it carefully.

The older boy stared bleakly at the pot for a few seconds before looking back up at Hinata. "Would you like me to do that instead, Hinata-san?" He leaned forward and took the spoon from her grasp.

The girl blushed slightly. "Uh, thank you, Susumu-san… I'll… I'll go get some bowls." She stood up and walked over the cabinet by the wall.

"Why are you so nice to her?" hissed Kita, sending a frown his way.

Susumu kept his gaze away from her as he whispered, "What, do you _want_ me to treat the heir to the Hyuuga clan like any old girl?"

Kita's mouth opened and closed as she tried to think of a retort, but she knew he was right in what he was doing. She wouldn't want to get in trouble with Hinata-chan's family either. From what she'd been told, it wasn't exactly a good idea to get on their bad side. Still, Kita grumbled silently to herself at her team mate's implied comment towards her.

"Where's Shikamaru-kun?" asked Hinata. She placed a number of bowls down on the floor.

"Talking to Nayamu-san," replied Susumu, still stirring at the pot. "I don't think he still believes a ghost could be behind this."

Kita's eyes quickly scanned the room. Her eyebrows furrowed. "The strangest thing of all is that from the time I've been here, I haven't even seen a ghost."

"Of course you haven't seen a ghost," scoffed Susumu. "Or else we'd have caught it by now."

"That's not it," Kita interrupted him. "I mean, I haven't seen _any _ghosts- not just the one responsible, which would be a completely different sort. Usually I get followed by groups of them, or lots of them are attracted to me, but there's not any here."

Susumu raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you saying then, Girly? That this place should be haunted but it's not?"

Kita groaned. It made so much more sense in her head than when she said it out loud. She peeled a glove off and offered her hand to Susumu. "Here, I'll show you."

The older boy stared down at her hand. "I am _not_ going to hold hands with you."

"Too bad then," growled Kita. She quickly grabbed him by the wrist.

Susumu's eyes widened. The room had suddenly warped, the colours seeming to drain until the walls were black. The fire before him had turned white-hot, and the sky outside went red. Hinata still sat on the opposite side of the irori, looking at him with confusion. The colour of her skin, hair and clothes had all inverted though. But, the room was empty of any other beings.

"Do you see what I mean?" asked a voice.

Susumu turned back, nearly jumping at the sight of the girl holding his wrist tightly. Kita's being glowed an unearthly white. Flames of the same colours spilled from her eyes and mouth as she spoke. It was anything but natural… He swiftly pulled the girl's hand off of him. The room returned to normal.

"The hell was that?" demanded Susumu. He rubbed at the spot where Kita had grabbed him.

"Another realm similar to our own," replied Kita. She slid her glove back on. "It's what the spirits can see, but we can't. The most any normal person can get is a feeling from it, like when you think you're being followed."

"So you didn't see anything?" asked Hinata. She still had a confused look on her face.

Susumu shook his head. "If there was supposed to be something there, I sure as hell didn't see it."

"Now do you understand?" Kita looked concerned.

"I understand why you say those ghosts are attracted to you, Girly. You look like a bug zapper." He shrugged when Kita shot him a dark glare. "Yeah, yeah, I get it now- just don't do it again."

"You might have to if we're going to be able to catch that ghost," said Shikamaru, closing the door behind him. He took the last free side of the irori and yawned. "I'm not keen on how long this may take though."

Hinata handed a bowl to Susumu, letting him pour stew into it. "Maybe we can take it in turns? If Kita-chan's ability works while she sleeps, then one of us can hold her hand and keep watch until it's her turn. Since Kita said that there are no normal ghosts here, then it should be easy to spot one when it appears, right?" She looked at Kita.

Kita smiled her thanks at Hinata for thinking of the idea. "It still works when I'm asleep… I'm pretty sure of that. I'm hoping that it won't take too long. There haven't been any people here, so it could appear quicker than we expect."

"We need to be organised when it appears then." Shikamaru tapped a finger against his knee, thinking things through.

"But it's awfully hard to prepare for something we don't know anything about," said Hinata. "And only Kita-chan knows what to do. If it's a ghost, then our skills might not be able to help her."

"True," muttered Shikamaru, glancing at Kita. "Hopefully that won't be the case however."

"Yeah," replied the girl with a nod. She accepted a bowl of stew from Hinata and stared down at it. _I hope I know what I'm doing. I've never exactly done something like this before, especially with a violent spirit. _

The door slid open with a loud clack. Nayamu grinned at the group, shoving Susumu over to sit down beside the irori.

"Dinner's ready? Great!"

* * *

**Outside…**

Red light bathed over the fields as the sun set, taking with it the last traces of warmth from the air. A cold wind picked up, blowing through the tall stalks of wheat that covered the land, bringing a shiver to anyone that would have felt it. The last sliver of a waning moon shone weakly, adding little to lighting up the darkness that encroached.

Within the wheat, something moved.

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Foreshadowing much? Haha…

Hmmm, if you're wondering what an irori is, it's like a small square pit cut into the floorboards of a room so it acts like a kind of fireplace. A pot is usually hung over the top of it so it can be used for cooking. (If you ever want to see them in an anime, watch Mushishi, which uses quite a lot of traditional elements like that)

**Okaie dokie smokie, let's hit the road! I'll see you in the futuuure! **


	58. Fright in the Field

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Back on track!

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 58: Fright in the Field _**

**Later that night…**

Susumu blinked blearily. The heat in the room was stifling thanks to the irori and his eyes felt dry and scratchy. Tiny embers flew up as Nayamu chucked another log onto the fire.

"Nayamu-san, aren't you boiling?" he asked, fanning his face with a hand and then shaking the collar of his jacket to try and cool off.

The woman stared at him in surprise. "It's freezing in here! Ask everyone else, they'll agree. Hinata, you're cold, aren't you?"

The dark haired girl blinked and sat up a little more. She nervously tapped her fingers together, unsure what to say. "Um… well it is a little hot, Nayamu-san…"

"Nonsense," replied the woman with a frown. "It's because you have that huge jacket on already. Take it off."

A blush flashed across Hinata's face. She shook her head.

"Nayamu-san, it _is_ getting somewhat warm in here," said Shikamaru calmly. Beads of sweat were starting to collect on his forehead. "It makes it hard for us to work in this condition."

Nayamu shot him a dark look. "I don't see anything wrong."

Shikamaru gave her a deadpan look in return and pointed to the opposite side of the irori. Kita's head was bobbing up and down as she tried to keep herself from falling asleep. After a second, her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she toppled onto the floor. Instantly she curled up into a cat-like position and began to sleep. Shikamaru shook his head. "Cats easily fall asleep when it's too warm."

"Kita-chan has also been training very hard for a while now," said Hinata. She shuffled over to Kita's side and placed a hand on the girl's head. Secretly, she remembered something she had seen, her hand moving to lightly scratch behind one of Kita's ears, earning a purr from her. "She's such a cutie sometimes."

"It's because she's so short, isn't it?" Susumu eyed Hinata for a second, raising an eyebrow at her.

Hinata blinked. "Short? Well… I suppose… she is pretty short for her age. But I meant…" She paused as she saw the older boy frown. "What's the matter, Susumu-san?"

The boy's face twitched slightly, his gaze changing direction. "Nothing."

Hinata gave a crooked smile. "Susumu-san, it's strange, but you never seem to acknowledge that she's like a cat."

"Things are already more complicated than it is," he replied. He wrinkled his nose as he frowned. "I don't see the point of it."

"But… you like to point outoften enough that she's a girl?" Hinata continued to scratch Kita's ears, gazing back at him.

Susumu bit his reaction to snap back under control. He had to be more careful with what he said around the Hyuuga heiress. He glanced down at Kita, making sure she was still asleep. "It's because she doesn't say anything about it herself. If you're a person like everyone else, it's acceptable to hear such things, but just because she's got a pair of fluffy ears and a tail, it doesn't mean it's acceptable for us to point it out constantly when she doesn't."

Hinata didn't reply, instead giving a sad smile at Kita. _I'd forgotten… it's like when people who don't know point out my Byakugan and think I'm blind. They treat me like I'm different. I don't like it when they do… And, Naruto-kun, he's the same. He didn't like it when people pointed out he was an orphan and treated him differently for it. _She took her hand away from Kita's ear, though for a brief second she glanced to see if Kita had a tail, curiosity getting the better of her. Inwardly, she told herself off for it. _Susumu-san is right, if Kita-chan wants to talk about it, she will. _

Nayamu sneezed. "I'm getting far too cold here. I'm going to bed." She stood up, looking cranky.

Shikamaru stood up as well. "Nayamu-san, we need you to stay…"

"I'm not staying in a room where I'm going to freeze to death," retorted the woman. Her brow twitched as Shikamaru held up a hand signalling for quiet. Nayamu placed her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me to be quiet! Who's the client here, huh?"

"Shh!" Shikamaru glared at her and pulled out a kunai. "I heard something outside."

A loud creak echoed through the house- the front door. All attention went towards the hallway.

Susumu stood up, grabbing a kunai of his own. "We can't see it without Girly's eyes," he hissed. "Whatever it is could already be in the room."

"Hinata, quick, grab Kita's hand and tell us what you can see," whispered Shikamaru, his eyes sweeping throughout the room.

Hinata scrambled to pull Kita's hand free. Her eyes widened. "I can't see anything, she's deactivated it!"

"Damn!" Shikamaru tensed. "Wake her up then!"

Tapping noises came from the hallway. Hinata shook Kita, trying to wake her. "Kita-chan, wake up! Hurry! We need…"

The door slid open.

The group blinked.

A pair of lifeless glass beads stared back.

"A scarecrow?" asked Hinata almost silently. A piece of straw dropped onto the floor. The scarecrow twitched slightly.

Reflexively, Susumu flung his kunai at the scarecrow's face. It made no attempt to move as it stuck into its forehead. The scarecrow's head tilted before it plucked it out with a gloved hand, letting it fall to the floor with dull thud. It stared back as if nothing happened, the stitched smile on its face never faltering. Susumu reached for another kunai.

* * *

**Later…**

Something wet hit Kita's face. As the shock of the cold feeling flashed over her, her eyes snapped open.

"About time!" exclaimed Susumu as she sat up. Kita noticed an empty bucket in his hands.

"What'd you do that for?" she demanded, shaking her head and sending drips of water everywhere. She looked around the room. The fire was down to a few wispy flames, most of the wood drenched in water too. It looked like there had been a struggle- the paper doors were torn. Nayamu was fretting over them and complaining about the mess. Shikamaru sat on the floor, looking over a scroll with a pen in his mouth, whilst Hinata sat beside her, wiping her face from the droplets of water she'd been covered with.

"I'm going to have to replace the whole thing!" Nayamu pulled at a torn edge of paper. "I can't believe this…"

Kita's brow twitched. "What happened?"

"If you'd been awake, you'd have seen, Girly," replied Susumu snidely. "We could have used your help, but you were asleep!"

"Please don't blame Kita-chan," said Hinata, tapping her fingers together nervously. "The room was too warm, and Shikamaru said that…" She trailed off, looking too worried to continue.

"Can someone please tell me what happened?" Kita asked again. She tensed as she realised something. "Damn, don't tell me I accidentally deactivated my sight?"

Susumu slid the bucket away as he sat down. "It wouldn't have mattered anyway. We saw plain and simple what it was."

"You saw?" Kita inquired. "But, only really strong ghosts can be seen…"

"It was a scarecrow," said Shikamaru suddenly.

"…A scarecrow?" repeated Kita. She blinked as Shikamaru held up the scroll he had been going over. He'd drawn a picture on it- a long pole with potato sack filled with straw attached, a floppy hat, scraggly vest and… a happy face? Kita stared at it close up. Yup, a happy face. She frowned. "Are you sure?"

The group around her nodded.

Kita kept staring at the picture, feeling frustrated. "But this makes no sense. And on top of all that, it could be any number of things! It's probably some kind of yokai, but there are so many things that fall under that category. It could be a Tsukumogami, or even some kind of shape-shifter animal."

"It opened the door and stuck its head in. I threw a kunai at it, and it hit dead-on, but it pulled it out. When I went for another, it was almost stumbling over itself trying to get away." Susumu picked his kunai off the floor and twirled it around a finger. "Tore the doors when it did."

"You got it with a kunai?" asked Kita.

Susumu nodded. "Right in the forehead, but it took it out like nothing happened."

Hinata looked at Kita. "If it was some kind of _henge_, that would have hurt it, wouldn't it? But it didn't look hurt at all."

"You're right…" Kita confirmed. "Although Tsukumogami are living items, they would have been hurt in some way. They don't have the capability to stage something like what Nayamu-san has said either. And it couldn't be an animal, even if it was a strong one." She stood up and walked over to the door. She crouched down beside a piece of straw and picked it up, sniffing if for something. "No, it's not an animal. If it was a shape-shifter, anything that dropped off would have turned back into the original form, so the straw makes no sense. It's gotta be a ghost. Only a ghost would be able to do this."

"What was the point of a scarecrow then? Because this ain't making any sense to me at all." Susumu continued to twirl the kunai, eyeing Kita as she rejoined them.

"A bluff," said Shikamaru. He glanced at Kita and she nodded again, knowing they were thinking the same thing. "I've seen strategies like this before- the enemy tries to confuse the opponent into thinking they're safe, or that they themselves are non-threatening, but in reality the enemy is planning a surprise attack. If we're not careful, it will catch us off-guard."

Hinata frowned, trying to make sense of it herself. "Um… so you think that the scarecrow may have been possessed, Kita-chan?"

"That's the only explanation I can think of," Kita agreed. "I don't think its realised we're smarter about what it's up to though."

"We have the upper hand then?" Susumu raised an eyebrow.

"Not quite. Without knowing what kind of abilities the ghost has, and what we can do in return makes it difficult."

"But it's just like any other opponent then," replied the older boy irritably.

Kita scratched the back of her neck. "I guess so." Her ears twitched suddenly as a shattering sound echoed down the hallway.

Nayamu gasped and went out to the hallway. "That came from my bedroom!" Something else fell upstairs, causing a loud thump. Nayamu started down the hallway. "What the hell is going on?"

"Nayamu-san!" exclaimed Hinata, making the woman pause. "Please don't go down there!"

Shikamaru walked out to the hallway as well, listening as more noises came from the upper floors. He frowned. "It's trying to lure us away."

"_It's_ breaking my valuables!" retorted Nayamu angrily. She stomped her foot in frustration. "We need to go stop it!"

The chuunin shook his head. "The upper levels are too close quarters for us. If it separates us, that's the end."

"This is madness!" Nayamu balled her hands into fists. "I will _not_ be having my house torn apart by scarecrows, or whatever you said it was."

"What do you suggest we do then, Nayamu-san?" asked Hinata.

"_Outside,_" hissed the woman. The group looked around at each other.

* * *

**Outside…**

Shikamaru fanned a hand to get the fire started. They had set up on one of the small roads that ran between the wheat fields.

"Why are you putting up a fire, Shikamaru-kun?" asked Hinata. "Wouldn't it attract the ghost?"

"That's the point, Hinata," the chuunin replied to remind her. "But we're better prepared to see it coming as well."

Kita watched the house. It was dark all throughout now. The only light was from the rising flames of the fire behind her. She turned, hearing her team mates talk. "There's problems though. I could see it coming, even if it was dark, but I need a light source for my bloodline. I couldn't defend myself or anyone else as well. On top of that, the ghost might decide to show up not wearing the scarecrow it has possessed."

Hinata frowned sadly. "This doesn't seem to be going very well…"

"Girly, before when we were inside, you said something about visible ghosts?" Susumu was glancing down at the fire and then the surrounding fields.

The cat-eared girl's hands gripped at her pants. "The only time ghosts can be seen is if they're really strong. To be able to manifest themselves to be able to fully interact with this world… there's only two ways I know of: they either need a strong enough resolve when they passed on, which gives them the strength; or they're given the strength by another force."

"Eh, by another force? Like what?" The older boy raised an eyebrow at her before giving a crooked frown. "Oh, you mean like you?"

Kita scratched behind an ear. "It takes a lot of chakra to do. I'm not too keen on it either."

Nayamu crossed her arms as she sat next to the fire, trying to get warm. "Me and my big mouth… now I'm even colder. How long is this going to take?"

"As long as it takes, Nayamu-san," replied Shikamaru. Inwardly he grumbled, fed up by the woman's antics. He sat back, satisfied that the fire was going properly. The others slowly joined him, growing bored of the wait.

* * *

As the hours passed, Kita glanced around, checking the surroundings. It was getting colder and darker as the night wore on, and she only worried more.

"The whatever it is isn't still in my house, is it?" Nayamu glimpsed over to her house, scowling the whole time.

"There's no reason for it to be now we're out here," said Kita. "I can't see anything with my eyes. Ghosts usually stand out, but there's nothing."

"Great…" muttered Susumu. "Does that mean it's still in the scarecrow then?"

"Probably," replied Kita worriedly. "If it's hiding inside something, I can't see it."

Hinata sat up as she thought of something. "Kita-chan, I could see if it was. Maybe we could see if your eyes and mine can work together?"

"It's worth a try," agreed Kita, standing up and peeling a glove off.

Hinata stood up as well, offering her hand as she activated her Byakugan. The veins around her eyes bulged further as Kita grabbed her hand and her vision changed.

"Do you see anything?" asked Shikamaru. The dark-haired girl shook her head, but then paused.

"Wait… I see…" She turned sharply, making Kita stumble. The dark-haired girl's mouth gaped slightly. "We're surrounded."

"What?" demanded Kita, regaining her footing. She looked around the fields with her sight, but seeing nothing. Her ears twitched though as the wheat rustled. Kita took a step back as lines wove their way through the tall stalks towards them. "Hinata-chan, what is it?"

Hinata frowned. "They're like glowing balls of some kind. But I can't make out a definite shape."

The lines disappeared.

"Up there!" shouted the girls at the same time. Scarecrows began to fall from the sky as they looked up.

The boys leapt to their feet, Shikamaru pulled Nayamu up to stand behind him. Susumu pulled out a handful of shuriken and threw them. The scarecrows before him toppled off course and crashed into the ground, wood splintering and straw falling out. Before Susumu could grin at their defeat, they slowly stood back up and continued to march. He pulled out another handful of shuriken.

"That isn't going to work!" Shikamaru's brows furrowed. "They don't feel it. We'll have to completely destroy them." He picked up a burning stick from the fire and stuck it into the face of an oncoming scarecrow. It quickly caught alight, falling as it burned.

Hinata and Kita edged backwards.

"We need to fight." Hinata gritted her teeth and let go of Kita's hand so she could take her stance.

"Don't let go." The other girl grabbed her hand again. "It could be some kind of trick. We'll need to be able to see through it."

Hinata stared at her for a second before nodding. "Okay."

Kita gave a grin at her. "We can do this, no problems." She slid the claws on her free hand out and seized a scarecrow coming at her. "Hinata-chan!" She heaved it over her head into the air.

"_Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho_!" Hinata's hand became a blur as beams of blue chakra arched around her. The scarecrow was sliced apart when it fell beside her. Hinata's eyes widened. "Kita-chan! Behind you!"

"Hang on!" yelled Kita, swinging Hinata around. Hinata's chakra beams sliced apart another one as it leapt from behind.

Burning heaps surrounded the boys and Nayamu. Shikamaru tripped one over into the flames. It stumbled to get back on its feet before giving up to the fire. The chuunin wiped his brow and looked around – all clear. The girls had cleared their lot as well. Hinata was still surveying the area. Kita picked up a dismembered arm and tossed it into the fire. She glanced up at Shikamaru, a frown on her face.

"That was strange," she muttered. "Just scarecrows? Nothing was hiding inside them either, though Hinata-chan said there were glowing balls."

Susumu kicked at a pile of ash, sending pieces into the wind. "I'm no expert, but they acted a lot like zombies, like on old horror movies – not much of a challenge really."

"Too easy…" agreed Kita.

"Watch out!" yelled Hinata suddenly at Shikamaru and Susumu, looking up. Another scarecrow was hurtling down.

"I've got it," grinned Susumu, pulling out a fireball bomb. He reached back and threw, the ball flying into the air and exploding on contact with the scarecrow. Bits and pieces tumbled from the sky, landing with soft thuds around the place. A cloud of smoke floated above. Susumu gave a grin.

Kita felt her hand being squeezed hard. She glanced across at Hinata, the other girl's face filling with worry. "What is it?"

"There's something…"

The smoke blew away. Something large descended from the sky. The ground shook as it landed. A roar echoed over the fields.

Kita began to tremble. "No…" she whispered. She let go of Hinata's hand. She wouldn't need her second sight to be able to see this…

The creature stood towering over them; its face was covered over by a leather mask, the eyeholes revealing black stitching where there should have been eyes. Jagged and crooked teeth stuck out from its mouth, nothing like the smiling faces of the scarecrows before. Its clothes were little more than a ragged pair of pants, and masses of bandages that covered its oversized arms.

The creature put a fist on the ground and stepped forward. Although it had no eyes, the way it moved seem as though it was observing the group.

"What the _hell_ is that!?" demanded Susumu quietly as he edged backwards with Shikamaru and Nayamu. Nayamu was silent, clutching onto Shikamaru's jacket.

"A Doki," said the chuunin, his face twitching as he recovered a memory. "They're strong."

"Too strong," whispered Kita. She gulped. Of all the spirits to deal with… this was the most frightening of all.

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**A/N: **Did ya see that one coming? I hoped not anyway, heh.

Hm, I thought I'd just mention a little something here you may find interesting, and something I've been asked a couple times. 'What's with the colour of Kita's eyes and hair?'. It's not that I like the colours personally, but I picked them because in anime/manga, colour is of some importance. Purple eyes are meant to represent the character having some kind of mystic power about them. In Kita's case… well, yeah, pretty obvious. As for her hair, it's a grey/silver-purple, but silver is meant to mean a hidden power (explains Kakashi's hair because of his Sharingan). For Kita, it's meant to be the Nekomata.

Blah, anyway, if you have more questions on hair/eye colour (there's not much definite stuff on eyes though I'm afraid), just ask me. I'll send you back a little list I have on reference.

**See ya all later!**


	59. Unmasked

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Geez, so much going on lately. And this was right in the middle of the action too? Sorry about that. I'll try harder to get more chapters done.

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**_Chapter 59: Unmasked _**

The fields were quiet. No crickets chirped. Nothing moved except for the rippling waves of wheat shifting in the breeze. However, in the middle of the maze of fields and crossroads a group of five people stood- almost motionless. Flames crackled from a fire, casting light upon the hulking creature standing before it, face covered by a leather mask.

"Damn, this couldn't get any worse," muttered Shikamaru. His brain felt like it was on the edge of meltdown. The Doki shuffled forward slowly, observing the group though it had no visible eyes. What was he supposed to do exactly? The last time had been one of his toughest battles. He glanced across at Kita, the fur on the girl's ears sticking up fearfully. He frowned. "Kita, tell me what you know," he whispered.

"I don't know enough, they're a class all of their own," replied the girl quietly. Her knuckles had gone bone white from clutching her hands so tightly. "I only know that their abilities range too much to be definite and that most of them are resistant to physical attacks because they're like a shell."

Shikamaru frowned. Ideas started to connect each other together in his mind. Things started to click. The last time he couldn't harm them outwardly, because they had a kind of 'shell' it seemed. But, that meant something lived _inside_ the shell. He remembered the strange, many-mouthed slug creature that he had seen spewed forth. And they ate at a person's energy. Finally Nayamu's story about the workers being tired made sense.

"We need to get Nayamu-san away from here," he said. "Hinata, take her back to the house. She takes priority."

Hinata nodded and moved closer to the woman.

"We'll need a distraction. Susumu." Shikamaru glanced at the other boy.

"Already there," replied Susumu, pulling out a smoke bomb.

"Ready?" asked Shikamaru, glancing at his team. Hinata grabbed Nayamu's hand. "Now!"

Smoke exploded before the feet of the Doki as Susumu hurled the smoke bomb. It gave a roar.

"Nayamu-san, this way," urged Hinata, pulling for the woman to follow her.

"You better destroy that thing!" hissed Nayamu before she ran.

Shikamaru frowned. "Get ready. We'll have to try explosives."

Kita slid her claws out, more of out habit than in preparation for a fight. Her hands would be of no use in this fight – the creature was too tough that way. But what could she do? She felt she was the only one who stood a chance. The others knew nothing about these kinds of creatures, and she knew little herself too. _Hang on_, she thought. _Didn't Shikamaru say it was a Doki before I did…?_

Something in the corner of her eye moved – a blur. The smoke cloud still clung in the air before them, but there was something wrong. A scream came from behind them. The group turned. Kita's eyes widened.

"It-it moved!" she exclaimed. "It's gone!"

"Damnit! Go, go!" yelled Shikamaru. _I should have figured it'd have gone for Nayamu!_

Hinata stood in front of Nayamu, standing her ground against the monster lumbering towards her. In a flash, it ran to the side, moving faster than Hinata had anticipated. She heard a scream behind her. The Doki was leaning over Nayamu, the woman paralysed with fear.

"It _is_ you…" whispered Nayamu, staring up at the creature's face. It growled at her, as if daring her to say more. "Kotou…" she breathed.

The Doki bellowed at her, raising a fist. Explosions erupted on its arm, making it pause. Hinata pulled Nayamu out of the way and to her feet, making her run with her. Behind them, the Doki batted at the fiery orbs that kept flying towards it. Susumu kept launching fireballs at it. The Doki sprinted forward, head lowered with the intention of ramming them. Just as it was about to reach, it crashed headfirst into a circle of light that appeared a few feet before Susumu. The boy gritted his teeth, holding another fireball in his raised hand. Shikamaru and Kita ran to catch up. The Doki had slumped onto the ground, but was still moving.

"Susumu, get out of there!" yelled Shikamaru. "The explosives aren't working!"

"I know what I'm doing!" retorted the blond.

"Don't argue, move it!"

"Watch out!" shouted Kita as the Doki pushed her halo aside like it was nothing. She called it back around as it went to slam both fists on top of Susumu. Its fists pounded around the barrier of the halo, driving it down onto the ground. Susumu swore and rolled out of the way before it crashed into the dirt.

He got back onto his feet, throwing the fireball he had in his hand. It landed on the Doki's face, exploding violently and making it stumble backwards.

"Kita, I need light," ordered Shikamaru. Kita nodded and pulled her halo from the ground, silently thanking that it hadn't broken apart yet. Shikamaru crouched as the halo cast light behind him. His shadow raced out, flowing over the ground and attaching itself to the lumbering ghost.

Susumu and Kita both took a relieved breath as the monster went into the same crouching position as Shikamaru.

"What do we do?" asked Susumu, tossing a new fireball up and down in his hand, ready to throw.

"I told you before, those aren't going to work," grunted Shikamaru, focussing to keep his jutsu in place. His eyes scanned over creature. "Susumu, I need you to swap places with Hinata. And don't argue, just do it."

The older boy frowned, but chose to comply, running off in the direction of the house.

"What are you planning?" asked Kita, eyeing the creature.

Sweat began to condense on the chuunin's forehead. The Doki was slowly managing to move around. "You'll see. Right now we need more shields."

"But I don't have a light source," protested Kita.

"You already have one, use it." Shikamaru tightened his hold on the creature, making it go still again.

Kita stared at the halo she already had. _I've never done it this way… _She put her hands together. "_Hiton; Enkou Shouheki_!" Another two halos appeared before her, hovering expectantly. She went to grin, but her expression fell short. A hissing sound came from the Doki, its mouth opening wide. A white blob slithered out, twisting through the air towards her. Rows of teeth snapped open and close from the number of mouths on it.

"Get out of the way! It'll drain your energy!" Shikamaru gritted his teeth and let go of his jutsu. It was useless now to keep it in hold when it didn't affect that _thing. _He pulled Kita by her jacket to run with him. "Damn, this isn't good. It eats physical energy."

Kita's halos trailed behind them, just before the reach of the creature's snapping mouths.

Suddenly the thing turned tail and began to flee back. Shikamaru and Kita slowed down. Glimmers of blue light sparked in the direction they had just run from. Shikamaru swore to himself and began to run back. "Come on!" he yelled. "Hinata's in trouble!"

Hinata stepped back, her palms out and ready. A limb lay on the ground, cut through like it was butter. The creature was shaking awkwardly. Hinata's face twitched when she saw what was left of the stump of the arm. It was hollow inside. No flesh… just nothing. The Doki turned to her, something white had retreated into its mouth. Inside the hollowness of its arm, something was swirling around. Hinata gulped, seeing flashes from rows of teeth. The Doki swung its remaining arm at her.

"Hinata! Jump!"

The dark-haired girl flew back into the air, unable to have dodged the blow.

"Hinata-chan!" Kita yelled. She gritted her teeth, glaring at the creature as it stared off at Hinata's fallen form. It opened its mouth again, the white spirit crawling out. "Shikamaru, go make sure Hinata-chan's okay! I'll stall it." She sent her halos ahead of her, trying to make them knock the creature over.

Shikamaru separated and went towards Hinata. He lent over her, shaking her slightly by the shoulders. "Hinata, get up. You're the only one of us that can do anything!"

Hinata's eyes blinked open. "Its body is made of chakra…" she whispered.

The chuunin nodded. "The creature makes the chakra by mixing its spiritual energy with the physical energy it drains from other people. We need to make sure it can't drain us and recover." He helped Hinata to her feet. The girl held a hand to her side and cringed.

"It hurts… but I've got to keep going." She froze as she heard a scream. "Kita-chan…" The pair turned, seeing the girl struggling within the grip of the Doki's hand. Hinata took her hand away from her side and ran, activating her Byakugan as she did. Chakra flared up around her hands.

The light vanished suddenly. Hinata stumbled, her eyes wide as a pale white light wrapped itself around Kita's neck. The girl's struggling became weaker.

"Don't hesitate!" shouted Shikamaru, running up behind Hinata. The chakra around Hinata's hands flared even more.

The white glow slipped back inside the Doki's mouth. Kita hung limply in its grasp. The Doki glanced towards the two shinobi running towards it. It raised its arm and launched the body it had been holding.

Windows smashed and wood splintered as Kita was sent flying into the house behind it. The stump of its other limb began to reform. It took off suddenly, blurred in sight as it fled in the direction Susumu and Nayamu had gone before.

"Kita-chan!" yelled Hinata. "Shikamaru-kun, Kita-chan, she's…"

"We can't worry about her now! It's going for Nayamu-san!" The two chased after it, hearing an explosion come from the other side of the house. Susumu ran from around the corner, carrying Nayamu on his back. He stopped before Shikamaru and Hinata, panting.

"Some white leech thing attached to her and she fainted," he breathed. "Damn it's fast…"

A groan came from the house. One of the veranda beams splintered and fell, taking a portion of the house down with it. The three looked around warily. Things had become silent again, apart from the creaking house.

"Where's Girly gone?" asked Susumu, eyes glancing about for any movement in the dark.

"The Doki attacked her too," replied Hinata softly, quickly looking over at the hole in the second story of the house. She paused. A tile from the roof fell onto the ground and cracked. "_Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho_!" Susumu and Shikamaru leapt back.

A limb landed on the ground, quickly sliced off as the Doki had tried to strike down on Hinata before she had put up her defence. The Doki bellowed when it landed, the white creature flying out of its mouth to attack once more. Hinata ducked as it flew overhead and sent a ribbon of chakra out at its leg. The Doki stumbled over as its leg fell away. Hinata sliced its other leg off. The Doki fell flat on its face. The white creature fled back inside, making the body claw at the ground desperate to get up. Hinata pushed forward, a frown planed on her face. A tiny flash of blue light came from the Doki's neck. Its head calmly rolled to the side, severed. The demon's movements slowed to a halt. Hinata ended her attack.

"Geez, I'm glad that's over," sighed Susumu. He placed Nayamu on the ground and wiped his forehead. He glanced up at Hinata and Shikamaru; the two both held the same look of nervousness. A cracking sound caught his attention. A line had appeared down the Doki's back. The line split into many, causing a fractured pattern upon the Doki's skin. "The hell's happening?" muttered Susumu quietly. Hs hands grabbed hold of Nayamu's shoulders, ready to pick her up again.

Shikamaru felt his body tense up. The blood in his fists was pulsing. "The body has that white leech thing inside it… We can't touch it."

"Shikamaru-kun, what do we do?" Hinata backed up as the skin around the Doki's neck began to crumble.

The chuunin stared at it. What _could_ they do? This thing wasn't like a human enemy! And they'd just destroyed the only part that they could defeat. What about what was inside? _Damn it_… _How could I be so behind? It's like I'm playing Shouji without being able to see the board, let alone the opponent's moves. And Kita's been taken out. Damn, how could she let herself be so careless? _

The Doki splintered apart. White ropes burst from the centre, flailing wildly.

"Susumu, don't let them touch Nayamu-san. She might die if they drain her again!" shouted Shikamaru, stepping back as one tried to slip around his foot. The mouths on the creature gnashed at the air frantically, searching for sustenance. _It must feel defenceless like that… Even though we can't destroy it, its instincts must be going crazy telling it to create a place to hide again._

Susumu gathered up Nayamu onto his back again and leapt out of the way. "What the hell is with this thing?! Why won't it die?!"

Hinata sent a ribbon of chakra out towards the centre of the thrashing group that looked like white snakes, hoping there was something she could do. The chakra passed through harmlessly. She tried again – nothing. Again – nothing. Nothing was working! Her face became pale suddenly. She looked down, her eyes wide – one of the creatures had wrapped around her leg.

_I… I… didn't even feel it,_ she whispered. Her leg began to tremble. She pulled away from it, but crumpled as her leg touched the ground again. An arm wrapped around her shoulders and helped her up. Shikamaru let her lean against him for support.

"Don't get so reckless, you're wasting chakra," he said. Beads of sweat were pouring down his face.

"But, we don't have much left," replied the girl. All of their faces were starting to show signs of fatigue. "Shikamaru-kun… we need to retreat! We need to take everyone and run!"

Shikamaru pulled Hinata out of the way as more of the leeches came towards them, seeking for a meal. The chuunin watched the creatures uneasily. Hinata had been right about them not having much chakra. They were physically tired too, which was why the creatures were having such a hard time finding them with only their ability to sense energy around them.

"Shikamaru-kun, wha-what is that?"

The chuunin glanced away from the leeches he was dodging to the source - a small spherical object that glowed with an intense white light. It started to flicker with flames, growing bigger. It began to take a vague shape, growing more defined within a few seconds.

"Kotou?"

Susumu felt Nayamu stir awake in his grip. The woman's eyes were wide at the figure before them – a man dressed in rags, blood covering his chest. Nayamu struggled out of Susumu's hold. She clutched her hands to her chest.

"Why… why did you have to come back?" she whispered. "I was so happy without you. You ruined my family's name, my reputation… everything!"

The man before them stood silently, as if he hadn't heard. The white creatures began to retreat though, curling around his feet. He finally moved, a slight bowing of his head.

_"Nayamu-chan, what drove you to this to me? We were happy… so happy… I'm sorry I chose the path I did. I didn't know… it'd hurt you so much."_

Nayamu's face had gone pale. "Kotou…" Her fingernails dug at the cloth of her kimono. "Why are you saying this again? Why?! Why?!"

"What's going on? Nayamu-san, what is it?" Shikamaru looked from the man to her. She was shaking.

_"I know what I did was wrong… But we were happy… So why did it have to be you who decided I wasn't worthy to live?" _

Nayamu fell to her knees and covered her face. The three shinobi stared at her.

"I can hear him," said the woman. Tears dripped onto the ground. "I can hear him, in my head. He's saying the same things he said… just after I'd stabbed him."

"You were the one who killed him?" exclaimed Susumu.

"I had to…" replied the woman frantically. "He'd done so much wrong and nobody was stopping him. When I found out about all those people he'd wronged, I was the only one who could do it. What he's saying right now… it's what he said just after I'd stabbed him."

_"After I'm dead, I'll make sure you join me too… Nayamu-chan."_

A twisted look of glee spread over Kotou's face. Nayamu screamed. In an instant the creatures had struck out again. None of them had had time to react. Shikamaru pulled himself free, but they'd already taken their toll in such a short time. He felt woozy, the world was spinning. He could see the others as if they were far away, pulling themselves free as well, but feeling the same. Nayamu had collapsed. Susumu was trying to grab her, but his limbs were shaking.

Hinata gasped for breath. Her hands clutched at the grass under her. "Kita-chan… where are you?" she whispered. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to find strength. "Kita-chan!"

Roof tiles rained down from above, smashing onto the ground. Something larger tumbled down, barely landing. Kita coughed, dust pouring off of her. She held one of her arms tightly, blood dripping from where something had pierced her shoulder. She staggered towards the glowing figure.

"So you're the bastard behind this?" she asked, clutching at her arm harder. "Stop deciding the fates of the living and move on already."

Kotou turned to face her, the smile upon his face had vanished. Kita flinched as one of the white creatures lashed out at her, barely missing her face. It drew back to its master, hovering expectantly.

Kita frowned. "I see… you gave up your soul to become this thing. You can hardly even be called a human soul anymore."

"And who are you to decide against the wishes of the dead, little girl?"

Nayamu rose to her feet. Her arms dangled lifelessly, her head rolling side to side as she dragged her feet forward sloppily. There was something attached to her chest – a white rope… no, it was one of the creatures. Kita's brow twitched.

"You don't know what it's like to die," said Nayamu. Her voice felt hollow and disembodied. "To be killed in such a way and expected to move on like nothing happened. You don't know death. Stop interfering with my wishes."

"Don't preach crap like that to me," replied Kita bitterly. "It was already decided before I was born that my life would be about death. And I've already died once to prove it. My wish then was that I could protect my friends. You're the one interfering with _my_ wish."

Laughter rang out from Nayamu. It was shrill and cold, so unlike her usual voice. The laughter ended abruptly. "A wish means nothing if you can't fulfil it."

The twisted smile appeared again on Kotou's face. He stepped out from the ruins of the chakra shell. Nayamu was dragged along with him. Kita edged back. Kotou continued to step forward, bearing down upon her. The white creatures surrounding him flew toward Kita, trapping her inside as they wound about in the air around her. She stood still, eyes wide with fear.

The creatures closed in on her. Hinata gave a scream.

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**A/N: **Well, hopefully I can find some time. I got a job now, so I'm busy, busy, busy!

**If I fail to post a chapter soon, I'll do five hundred laps around Konoha on my hands, yosh! Hehe… **


	60. Burning Away

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Finally, getting down to the dirty work and the action!

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**_Chapter 60: Burning Away _**

Hinata's hands trembled. She tried to get up, but she was stuck, her own tired limbs refusing the move. _Kita-chan?_ _You just stood there. Why didn't you dodge it? I don't want you to die! You said you wanted to get stronger! _She stared at the scene before her. _Please… do something._

For a moment, everything was silent and still except for the writhing white leeches that clung around their prey. Kita gazed at the wall of white surrounding her. Her limbs were starting to feel like lead weights.

_It's funny, isn't it, Nibi? I wanted to shut you out so much, but it's impossible. We'll always be bound together. Even in death._ A noise was going off in her head. A scratching sound – Kita knew Nibi was clawing at the wall around it, trying to fight back. _I know I'm not the one in a cage, but I may as well. _You're_ my cage, Nibi. And I'll never be able to escape you._

"Kita-chan, get up! Don't give up!" yelled a voice.

_Hinata-chan… _

The white mass toppled onto the ground. Kotou looked pleased.

"At first I thought I hesitated because I wanted to give you a chance…" said a voice from within. "But I really shouldn't be creating anymore excuses for myself. I've got to accept it. And now, I've got no choice, huh? I said my dying wish had been to protect my friends."

Silence…

Nayamu fell to the ground; the creature holding her had suddenly vanished. Kotou stepped back, surprised by it. Something felt wrong… terribly wrong. Dust began to whirl around him, taking shape as his skin started rebuilding again. He had to hide, something was coming. A hand emerged from the white bundle, its claws scraping at the ground. One by one, the hand grabbed at a leech and squeezed. Each one turned into a formless light and vanished, seeming to be absorbed into the hand. Eventually, the only creatures were left around Kita's head as she struggled to her feet. She tore at the leeches, leaving scratches on her own face.

"Do you want to know what true death is, nyan?" she asked, stumbling towards Kotou as he hurried to rebuild his shell. Kita's ears were laid back against her head. Something had suddenly changed in her demeanour. "It's when even your soul is erased from existence. I wondered for a second, if I should send you straight to hell or not, but since you've drained me of so much energy you've forced me to compromise."

The chakra shell continued to build around Kotou's ghost. Kita was limping towards him, holding her arm again as it continued to drip blood. She stopped before the half-done shell. Kotou seemed frozen to the spot while he tried desperately to rebuild.

Kita lowered her head. A shaky grin spread across her face. _You were right, Dad. I can't deny this any longer. _

Her hand covered in blood, she reached for Kotou's stomach. The chakra shell continued to build, growing around her wrist. Blood began to seep as it tried to crush her wrist.

"Shut up," Kita hissed. She could hear him in her mind now, begging to let him go. He had realised her intentions. Her shaky grin grew more manic. "You won't get to suffer in hell – I'm doing you a favour."

_…What's she doing?_ Susumu watched the scene before him. He had crawled over to a pile of debris from the house and had slumped to sit against it. Just barely, he was able to see Kita's eyes and the smile on her face. He felt his hands trembling. _It's the same again… It's like she's become totally different. Something bad is going to happen, I can feel it. _

"Susumu…"

The boy glanced over at Shikamaru, who was barely sitting up himself. "Do you know…?"

"I think… I think she's meaning to absorb that soul. It only makes sense out of what she said," muttered the chuunin. Shikamaru wobbled on his knees and put a hand on the ground to steady himself.

Susumu stared at the other boy, then at Kita. He could see flickers of white electricity coming from where her arm was being swallowed up by the chakra shell. "But that thing is too strong! The hell does she think she's doing?!"

A muffled sound came from Hinata. Her face was buried in the grass as she lay on her stomach. She raised her face to them, covered in dirty smudge marks. Tear tracks had dried on her cheeks. "Kita-chan knows she doesn't have any other choice. She said she wanted to protect us."

Shikamaru and Susumu turned their gazes back to Kita. The chakra shell that had been growing up her wrist was now halfway up her forearm. Shikamaru's eyes began to widen.

"Kita, stop holding onto it! It'll…"

A muffled snapping sound reached their ears. Kita stared at her arm. Something was wrong with it. Pain shot up through her shoulder. Instinct was telling her to pull away, but her arm wouldn't move.

_If you want to absorb me, then you'll have to take it all_, whispered Kotou's voice in her head. _Everything I have in me, I'll shove it down your throat. You can't get away with taking what energy you want and leaving the rest for the dogs. _

Kita gritted her teeth. "Fine you bastard, I'll take it then, all of it!" she yelled. Her skin was prickling, like waves of goosebumps were racing up and down her body. She felt a little foggy too, either from the pain of her injuries or be unable to stop absorbing Kotou, she was starting to drift out a little.

"Kita, get out of there!" yelled Shikamaru.

"No!" shouted the girl. Her arm was completely covered in the shell up to her shoulder now. She sighed to herself, suddenly very quiet. "You know I can't just leave you all there…"

She slumped over. Shikamaru called her name again. She didn't respond. A scream echoed through the air from the Doki. Its skin started to crumble again, flaking off and becoming glimmers of light.

He gave a worried look – Kita's face had gone blank, her arm was wrenched into the air while it still held onto Kotou. _She's fainted and she's still going. Is she having problems? But what if she absorbs more than she can handle…? _

"…Kotou…" Nayamu began to stir. She looked at the scene before her. The chakra shell had vanished. Kotou's ghost flickered, steadily growing dimmer. Nayamu crawled towards him, tears filling her eyes. "Kotou… Kotou!"

* * *

_Years ago… _

"You… you really shouldn't be here, Kotou. They say it's bad luck to see me before the wedding."

The man grinned at his to-be wife, dressed in an elegant kimono. "I don't care about superstitious stuff like that, Nayamu-chan."

She giggled. "Of course not, you're too headstrong to believe in ghosts and that. But… why are you here?"

"I couldn't help myself," replied the man. He leaned in to whisper in her ear, "I just wanted to tell you I'll always be there for you. I'd die for you, you know."

Nayamu tucked some hair behind her ear and gave a shy smile. "I know… I'll never stop loving you either."

* * *

Kotou flinched, hearing his name. He turned slightly, seeing his wife crawling towards him. He glanced back at the girl who was holding him and draining his spirit away. Something was happening, he could feel it and it was scaring him. What kind of unearthly creature was it? His mind felt so much clearer for some reason, like a weight in his heart had vanished.

Nayamu was crawling closer. "Kotou!" She reached for his hand.

_You need to get away from here, Nayamu-chan. It's not safe. _Kotou gazed down at her. A look of worry was spreading over his face. _You know… I never realised how anger could take over someone so badly. I was an angry man, Nayamu-chan. It wasn't my place to put you through such pain. You… you did the best thing you could have. I'm not angry anymore. _

Nayamu's heart gave a loud thump when she felt her husband's hand grab her.

_Nayamu-chan, I don't want you to get hurt, but I have to get you away from here. This girl, she's not human. Just… forgive me, please? _

The woman gave a scream as she was hurled into the air. Shikamaru, Susumu and Hinata watched the woman sail over their heads and into the darkness. Shikamaru called her name. Kotou gave her one last glance before he turned back to Kita, and finally vanished. The girl's arm dropped to her side.

Silence crept over the fields once more.

The three shinobi on the ground stared at the site where the Doki had been – though, it looked almost like it had never been there. All that was left was a short girl standing in a slumped position, blood dripping from both her arms.

"Kita-chan, are you all right?" called out Hinata worriedly. She clutched at the grass beneath her. "She needs help. Shikamaru-kun, she's hurt."

Shikamaru didn't respond. His eyes were following something. Hinata followed his gaze. Something was moving near Kita… no, wait… it _was_ Kita. The cat-tail swung to and fro curiously. Kita's ears twitched.

"We need to get out of here," breathed Susumu. "The last time I saw this wasn't good…" He tried to move himself. His body refused to though. Susumu swore silently to himself when the girl looked up.

Kita's face was blank. Her lips moved quietly while she took in short breaths. Her ears moved slightly as off in the distance the wheat rustled. "I can't feel my arms," she muttered. Her arms dangled uselessly by her sides. She stood silently for a moment, staring down at the ground before a sad smile spread over her face and she sighed. "I'm having some trouble keeping grip right now. I hope you're okay to step in and help… I'm sorry…"

Dark chakra swirled up around her suddenly. Her tail lashed around wildly. Flickers of flames began to escape from her mouth. A fireball started to sprout, aimed at Hinata and Shikamaru. The two stared in horror. Something dark flashed before her and towards Kita.

The fireball went in the opposite direction. Kita stumbled backwards. The house behind her caught alight as the fireball hit. She gave an angry hiss, turning back to see who had opposed her target and caused the pain in her jaw. A young man stood before her, his position confident as he held a beckoning hand up. A girl stood beside him, gloved hands scrunched into fists.

"Sakura, Lee!" shouted Shikamaru. A look of relief was on his face.

The young man gave a salute. "Tsunade-sama was worried you might have come under an ambush, so she requested us to come assist."

"I'm glad for that…" sighed the chuunin. He frowned. "Did you see what happened?"

The girl responded. "Not all of it, but we could feel something going crazy with all the chakra getting thrown around, and we heard what she said. Don't worry about the client either, Lee caught her and put her on an embankment up the road." She tightened her fists, her gloves squeaking as she did. "Tsunade-sama informed us about this girl."

"We will do our best to help," said Lee, keeping a close watch on Kita. The girl stared back, a strange curiousness in her eyes as she stooped over and tilted her head. Her arms still hung uselessly by her sides. Her foot shifted slightly. Lee vanished, reappearing suddenly before Kita with a kick aimed at her. The girl went flying again, the fireball from her mouth firing off into the air harmlessly.

She landed on her feet, leaping back at Lee with a kick of her own. The boy blocked. He gave a slight grunt of discomfort – the chakra felt strange, like the touch of cold metal on his skin. It exerted a kind of pressure too, not physically, but it still made him uncomfortable. …And it was doing nothing for his Fires of Youth. He threw his arms up to block another kick. A pain shot through his arm suddenly though. He blinked as he saw the girl latched onto his arm, her teeth digging through bandages to his skin. Blood began to blossom from where her fangs dug in. Embers flew past them from the burning house, lighting the sky up in an orange glow. Kita continued to hold.

"Let go of Lee-san," growled a voice. Sakura approached, eyes narrowed.

Lee put his hand up to hit Kita. The girl swiftly let go and jumped back before he was able to swing. Sakura frowned, though it wasn't a harsh look this time.

"She's only going to do more harm to herself this way. Her arms need treatment." Sakura glanced back at Shikamaru. "It looks like she's lost consciousness trying to burn off excess chakra."

The chuunin nodded.

Kita's ears flickered forward at his words. In a split second, she had bolted towards the fields. Sakura gave a yell and Lee took off after her. Trails winded through the wheat as the two ran trying to either find or lose one another.

"Damnit," muttered Shikamaru. "She's trying to escape!"

"You need to catch Kita-chan," said Hinata worriedly. "She protected us, so we should help her now."

The wheat rustled a little further away from them. Kita burst out from the stalks and slid across the ground. Lee appeared after her, making her back towards the burning house. The light cast flickering shadows across them all. Kita breathed in before unleashing another fireball. Startled, Lee ducked and rolled away from it. The fireball flew into the fields. Smoke began to churn into the sky as it went up in flames.

"Even if we restrain her, those will be a problem," moaned Shikamaru. "Nayamu-san will kill us over the house."

"It'll be worse than that – Tsunade-sama will probably make us repay the damage," Susumu added. He looked down at his pocket before glancing back up at Sakura. "Hey, you, pink-haired girl."

"My name is Sakura." The girl shot him a dark look. "What?"

The older boy returned with an unsympathetic frown. "Lure her towards me."

"Why? You're injured, you can't honestly think you can help right now?"

Susumu's brow twitched. "Geez, you're one of those 'I'm so independent girls', aren't you? Damnit, listen to someone else for a change and just do it. Get her over to me anyway you can, even if you have to drag her."

Sakura's fists tightened as she stared down at him. Her glance faltered as she heard Lee and Kita fighting again. She grumbled, "Fine… if you want to get yourself in danger so much, then so be it." She pulled her gloves up a little and took off towards the fight.

Lee pulled his hand away as the purple-haired girl tried to bite him again. She seemed desperate to get away now.

"Lee-san! Get back!"

The green-clad genin glanced up and leapt back. Sakura had rounded them and was coming from the other side. Chakra was building up around her fist as she came soaring down. Kita's ears flickered towards her and she jumped. Sakura's fist missed her, smashing into the ground. The earth shattered into a crater, dirt flying into the air. Kita stumbled as she landed onto the rocky ground and turned, making a new run. Sakura appeared behind her, chasing her down. She ducked as the younger girl shot a fireball back at her. The smell of singed hair filled Sakura's nostrils. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Nobody dares messes with my hair!" she roared. She struck the ground again, a tear in the earth opening up before her and joining the chase.

Kita stumbled as her foot became wedged. She strained to pull it out and continue running down the corridor she had created – fields alight on one side, a burning mansion on the other. The house was crumbling apart as glowing embers and ash filled the air. She kept running though, dodging debris as it toppled from the rooftops. The end of the house was coming though, and there was road, an escape route.

"Lee-san, kick her over there!" Sakura yelled. "She can't get away!"

Lee caught up to her quickly before giving a burst of speed, jumping and aiming a foot into Kita's stomach. It connected. Kita spiralled up into the air before hitting the ground and sliding towards Susumu, rolling up to his feet. The girl lie stunned for a second before trying to get back up.

"Hey, Girly."

Kita glanced towards the boy sitting behind her. Her face was against the ground as she tried to push herself onto her feet again. Susumu gave her a patronising look.

"…Plus five points for the fireballs, minus ten for the pathetic performance."

Kita slumped back onto the ground. The dark chakra flickering around her slowly vanished.

Lee and Sakura ran over, expecting the worst. They stopped as they reached them, staring down as a noise reached their ears. Kita's tail lazily waved at them.

Sakura's eyelid twitched. "Why the hell is she purring?" She saw the bag beside Kita's nose and picked it up. "These are… catnip?"

"I told you." Susumu gave a tired smile. He glanced down at the purring girl. She was staring back at him peacefully. A tiny cat-like smile spread across her lips.

Shikamaru sighed. "Geez, this was troublesome. Let's get Nayamu-san and go back home already." He looked at the burning ruins of the house and the fields. "We better not tell her about this for a while though."

* * *

Kita looked up. It was the field, the sky bright overhead. The flowers were in bloom – blood red with white centres. Something black sat amongst the flowers, rolling around before coming to a frozen position.

…_It's you. _

Kita stared.

_Why… why are you here again? _

The panther smiled the best it could. _You've been taking your own steps now… but you still feel lonely, right? Instead of talking to _that_ thing…_ It glanced into the distance where the black wall stood. _You can talk to me. I'll listen, about anything. Maybe if we talk more, we can understand each other better, nya? There's no use fighting between ourselves for no reason. _

Kita closed her eyes and nodded. _We've already fought enough. We should get that goal together, to be stronger. _

_Nya… you know I'm sorry, about everything. _The panther's ears drooped.

_It's okay, you don't have to explain it. It's just that destinies are a funny thing. You try so hard to control them, but sometimes you find that it's somebody else's destiny to interfere with your own. _Kita replied. She stared back up at the sky and gave a snort of laughter. _I'm much too young to really be worrying about these sorts of things, right? Ghosts… training… my past… I hate it. _

_But isn't that like saying you hate yourself, nya? _The panther tilted its head.

Kita blinked at looked down at the creature. _I… don't know. I think sometimes I'm a lot like Gaara – we both have so much we dislike about ourselves, but… he works hard to get over that hurdle. Little by little, maybe I can do the same. _

_To get stronger together, we'll do that as well. _The panther's ears flickers. _Someone's calling you. Come see me again, nya? _

Kita nodded.

_And my name is Fujita… Don't you dare forget it. _

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Ahh, chapter sixty! What? Geez, it seems so far.

Oh, and as usual, the name explanation:

**Fujita:** Means 'field'. Well, it's after her home I suppose.

**I guess I owe five hundred laps around Konoha for not posting sooner, huh? Noooes… Oh yeah, and everyone, wish me luck for my trip to Animania on the 27th! I hope my Naruto group wins, we've been working so hard to find people. And I hope my haircut goes all right. I'd feel bad if my hair didn't work for my Temari cosplay. **


	61. Communication

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Ahh, new chapter…

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 61: Communication _**

"You really know how to make a scene, Girly…"

Kita was jerked awake by a bump. The smell of lingering smoke filled her nostrils – it seemed to be everywhere around her. In the distance, her eyes caught glimpse of smoke clouds drifting across the dawning sky. There was nothing but trees in her direct line of sight though. Beyond the forest, she felt like something terrible had happened… something _she_ had done. She cast a doubting look at Susumu. He was sitting opposite her in the cart, arms folded. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, don't worry. You just destroyed Nayamu-san's livelihood – throwing fireballs around and burning down houses and fields." He smirked as her jaw seemed to drop slightly.

A feeling of dread washed over the girl. She'd _burned _everything? Nayamu would kill her… Maybe… Hopefully not… Kita went to put her head in her hands, but felt only her fingers twitch uncomfortably. Both arms had been placed in slings and felt painful. She glanced up and down the cart – it looked a little charred in places, but mostly saved from damage. Three people were up the far end sleeping – Hinata, Shikamaru, and Nayamu. Shikamaru gave a snore as the cart bounced again.

"You never mentioned anything about fireballs before," commented Susumu suddenly. Kita's ears perked up.

"…It's a surprise to me too," replied Kita quietly. Her mind flashed back to a grainy photo she had seen in one of Gaara's files, of a giant cat breathing flames. _Is it because I'm becoming more like Nibi? I said I wasn't afraid of it, but when something like this pops up, it's hard not to feel nervous. Something gained… something lost. _

Susumu was staring towards the front of the cart where Kita hadn't looked yet. The scene behind had been preoccupying her, but as she went to look she blinked. When all this time she'd thought it had been a horse leading the cart, it was actually something… _someone_ else.

"Lee-san, you shouldn't overdo it," said Sakura. She sat at the very front, an irritated look on her face.

"Sakura-san, this challenge will help me to overcome future obstacles!" came the shout from a green-clad youth in front of the cart. Lee had somehow strapped himself to the front poles of the transport and was pulling furiously. He was actually making a decent pace too. "And I can not go so easily when there are those who need our help inside… Kita-chan, you have grown in your abilities since we both fought!"

Kita crawled up to the front on her knees and leaned over the seat where Sakura was sitting. "You were at the Chuunin Exam… But we didn't fight for very long, did we?"

"You can learn a lot about a person from their first few strikes," explained Lee, grinning as he held his pace on the road. "You are still very brash in your attacks."

The girl's brow twitched when she saw the slightly bloodied bandages on his arm. The pattern of the blood almost resembled a bite mark. "I got a little out of hand," she muttered.

Sakura shrugged. "Well, everything is fine now. We just need to get to the hospital. Nayamu-san will need more treatment than the rest of the team. Your arms will need to be tended too. You dislocated a shoulder during the fight, and don't get me started on the other one. I've done what I can, but it will probably need some reduction done on the first as soon as we get to the hospital."

Kita shuffled back to her seat. Her ears flickered up as she heard Susumu give a little cough. He pointed a finger at the seat beside her. Kita sighed as she saw her tail give a twitch.

"Normally you seem to kick up a fuss over it," remarked her team mate.

The girl leant back in her seat and stared up at the sky. "I'm not bothered today. I can't do anything anyway with my arms like this."

"You probably won't be able to do much at all," said Sakura, glancing back. "Not for a week or so with your dislocated shoulder. And you'll have to go easy on the other or you'll open the wound back up. If you do, you won't get any sympathy from me."

_I think I'm looking forward to a rest after this,_ thought Kita.

* * *

**That night… **

_Geez... this is creepy really. _Susumu stared at the large armchair near his bed. Kita was curled up in it like a cat, her tail twitching occasionally as she slept. _Why'd she have to come in here? I don't need any company. _

He grumbled to himself as glared up at the ceiling. He still felt drained from the events of last night, not to mention the cart ride back had resulted in a numb backside which refused to go away. The bed wasn't any better either. The pillows were comfortable, but the mattress was too soft for his liking.

"I hate hospitals," he muttered.

"Me too…" Kita's eyes were open, looking in his direction. "I've never felt comfortable in them."

"I didn't ask for any commentary, Girly," replied Susumu angrily. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

The girl shrugged. "It's night," she said simply. "You're the one who should be sleeping anyway."

"I can't sleep knowing you're watching me. It's too weird." There was silence for a while as the two tried to avoid each other's gazes. After some time, Susumu grunted and rolled his eyes. "Why don't you like hospitals?"

Kita looked around the room briefly. "I spent a long time in a hospital once, though I can't remember it well. Mostly all I can think of from back then is the ghosts. They watched me every day, hoping I'd help them. And, they're still here. In every hospital, it's the same." She paused, thinking. "Did you know that in most cases the soul retains what they look like when they die?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Susumu, frowning at her.

"They're a bit like fingerprints, leaving behind a physical memory of what the person saw of themself when they died… That's why I hate hospitals so much – if a person dies on an operating table, they see themselves in that state and keep the same appearance. They even bleed, though they're not alive. Some are in denial so much that they think blood is still running through their veins. For a lot of them, it doesn't matter what they hear. They just wish they were alive again. And… they look like they're always in such pain." Kita buried her face into the crook of the armrest, the leather upholstery squeaking as she did.

"…But not all souls are like that, are they? Not all of them are in pain, right?"

Susumu got no response. It took him a few minutes to realise that Kita really _had_ fallen asleep.

"Stupid girls…" he grumbled. He rolled over so he didn't have to face her. His mind continued to work though instead of settling down. If anything, feelings of dread were going through him. _Nikkou-chan… you… you couldn't have seen yourself like that. Are you still bleeding… in pain? _

Kita rolled over. Eventually, Susumu's mind drifted to sleep as well.

_Some aren't in pain though… they realise and pass over themselves. Those souls accept reality, and I think, out of all souls, they're the bravest. _The girl sat up and slipped out from the chair, careful not to make a sound as she tiptoed from the room. _Now I'm sure, that you once had someone you cared about die on you. Whoever they were… I feel that they were brave enough to pass over. _

Kita sighed as her stomach grumbled.

_Damn it, it's not right to be thinking so seriously on an empty stomach. I'm going to sneak to the kitchen and hope they still have some food leftover. _

* * *

**In Sunagakure… later the next day… **

Kankuro raised an eyebrow as he opened the door to his brother's bedroom. It was empty, as usual. The bedroom was more like a study room than anything. A desk, chair, and bookshelves, but no bed – no use for one anyway. The closest thing to a bed was a round basket hidden in the corner behind a cupboard. Kankuro gave a brief smirk, Kita had slept in that thing for a while, though she'd have no use for it now either. He shrugged and picked it up.

"Kankuro…" Gaara stood at the door, a towel over his head giving signs he'd had a shower.

"Ah, just thought I'd get rid of this thing for ya," replied the older boy, waving it around. "I'm sure you don't want it cluttering up the place."

Gaara paused, his eyes following the basket. They stopped after a moment and he turned back around. "No, I don't. Put it in the trash."

"Are you sure?" Kankuro frowned, ceasing the movements. A serious expression had passed over his face.

"Yes."

Kankuro gave a silent shrug to himself. He planted a hand on Gaara's head as he went past him. "Come on, get ready and we'll go get something to eat. I'll even pay this time."

Gaara gave a small nod and closed the door behind him.

_Sometimes I don't know if that kid is trying his best to understand people or not. _He glanced down at the basket in his hand. He squeezed it. _Having sentimental memories over some old object sounds a little dorky, but that's just how people are. _He walked down the hallway to his room, placing the basket behind the door. _If he doesn't understand that, I'll do it for him – until he comes to realise it himself. _

* * *

"All you could afford was fast food?" Gaara poked at the burger in his hands.

"Hey, it's not high-class, but it's good," said Kankruo between mouthfuls. "Besides… I spent all my money yesterday on… uh, never mind."

His younger brother frowned. "I've seen that collection you keep under your bed."

Kankuro's face was going red under his face paint. He bit into the last pieces of his burger violently. "I had to buy more because Temari threw my last collection out." He paused, raising an eyebrow at his brother. "So, what did you think?"

Gaara's face was blank. "Of what?"

Sly eyes slid around making sure nobody was listening. "You did look inside the magazines, didn't you? What'd you think?"

Gaara's face stayed blank. He picked up the burger and ate it instead. Kankuro gave an irritated pout.

"Fine, be that way… Don't come running to me when you want to know all the secrets about women though." He pulled another burger out from the paper bag beside him and ate it in silence.

"Oh, so here's where you are." Temari rounded the path, a hand hear her shoulder. Something furry was perched there, sniffing quietly. Temari patted the weasel as she squeezed her way in between the two on the bench. "I hate it when you guys just go out and decide to do something without me."

Kankuro grumbled. "We do plenty of things together."

Temari poked him in the forehead. "Going out and killing people isn't counted. Though, I was about to take some of the girls out on a survival mission in the desert for the night. They've been a bit lacking there lately. I don't know what's with these kids today, all those girls talk about is boys, make-up and clothes. What ever happened to the way we were trained?"

"Heh… do you really wish that they could have gone through the sort of training _we_ used to do?" Kankuro put his elbows on his knees and leant forward. "Remember the first time he sent us out on a suicide mission? I can't even remember how old we were, it was so long ago. Haha… and the look on his face when we came back, I bet he'd already arranged our tombstones…" His laughing cut short, like he'd realised he was laughing at something he shouldn't have.

His sister shook her head, a blank but reminiscent look in her eyes. "We changed a lot on that day. I can only remember that during the battle I was wishing so hard that I didn't want to die, but then I was told 'If you don't want to die, kill everyone else'. Do you remember telling me that, Gaara?" She glanced across at her little brother, the half-finished burger frozen in his hands.

"I… don't remember," he said. His gaze never left the spot on the ground before him. "There were a lot of fights."

"I guess," muttered Temari. A smile crept across her lips. "It's funny. We lose a family member, but since then it feels like we've gained so much more. I don't want this to change. Well, maybe."

Kankuro snatched the paper bag away from the claws of an inquiring weasel. It sniffed angrily at him and clambered back up his master's arm. Kankuro frowned. "I don't think you're entirely right about gaining so much, Sis. We've lost a few things too."

"Like what?"

The boy thought about it. "It's hard to say. Though, I know we're waiting for one particular thing to return. I wouldn't mind that change."

Temari gave a small smile. "So many years with just the three of us, but… what would you call Kita? Just a close friend, or maybe a sister…?" She gave another quick glance over at Gaara. "She's a precious person, at the very least."

"Yeah, yeah," muttered Kankuro, following her gaze. "Funny for a time we treated her like a pet."

"She's not an animal," retorted Temari. The weasel on her shoulder tumbled off onto Gaara's head as she stood up. Temari apologised and plucked it from him. Gaara didn't seem to have even noticed. "Come on, Kamatari, we gotta get those girls into shape. They're precious people too, they can't just be ignored. I'll see you both tomorrow night – don't go doing anything without me."

Kankuro watched until their sister was out of sight. Gaara was still staring at the ground. "Bro, look, I should just be serious with you. Don't dwell on the past, at least not the bad things. Memories are a good thing to have, but they're like photos. You can look at them, but you shouldn't just stare at them all day wondering about the stuff that went wrong. You've told me before you look forward to the future now. You can't look forward if you're always staring back at the past, it just isn't possible to live that way." He planted a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Want to know something else I hadn't realised for a while?"

Gaara looked up at him questioningly.

"Communication without fear is another aspect of love. That's the one I've been able to understand the most with relationships, though it's not often said. Me and Temari, of course you've noticed we communicate differently with you from before. You can understand that's because we love you, don't you?"

The red-haired boy nodded. "Yes, I know that."

Kankuro nodded back. "I don't normally talk about stuff like this, it's sappy and stupid. Think about it some more though. You'll be surprised when you realise that a lot more people communicate with you than you think. Now don't make me have to repeat myself again one day." He gave Gaara a pat on the shoulder and stuck his hands in his pockets, wandering back down the path towards home.

"Communication without fear…" mumbled Gaara to himself. He reached inside a pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, reading over it.

_Have you been going okay, Gaara? … I really miss you all… I hope you can write back, though I know you're busy being Kazekage and all… _

"A precious person, a close friend, or a sister…" The Kazekage frowned, shoving the paper back into his pocket. A dark shadow blocked the sun above him.

"Kazekage-sama, I'm so glad we ran into you!" said a voice. A young woman with curly hair smiled as she gripped onto the arm of a man who seemed to be blushing rather deeply. The woman bowed, pulling the man with her. "I'm sorry if we disturbed you. Aren't we, honey?"

"Ah, yes! Very sorry!" The young man bowed properly, breathing heavily.

Gaara gave an acknowledging nod. "No, it is fine," he muttered, glancing at the man strangely. His hair was tousled and his face sweaty. "Is there a problem?"

The woman laughed. "Not at all! We… ah, you tell him, Ryoichi! I'm just still so excited!"

The man scratched behind his head. He gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, you see, I just asked Miki, my girlfriend here, to marry me."

"Girlfriend? I'm your fiancé now!" retorted the woman, snuggling up to his arm closer. There was an awkward silence. Gaara's glance had returned to the ground. The woman coughed, nudging her fiancé in the ribs.

"Oh… Kazekage-sama, since we're here. We were wondering – do you, uh, have the power to wed people?" The man gave another nervous laugh. "We would be honoured if you could perform the ceremony."

Gaara suddenly stared up at the pair, a look close to bewilderment on his face. He recomposed himself to his usual blank look before shaking his head. "No. You should go to the temple and find a priest," he said quietly.

The pair looked disheartened. The man gave a sigh. "That's alright then. Uh, but we _would_ be honoured if you could attend, Kazekage-sama. It would be rude of us not to extend an invitation."

"You could even bring your girlfriend along. That girl with the silver hair is so adorable," giggled the woman unexpectedly, earning another strange look from the boy.

"Miki, don't be rude to the Kazekage. You shouldn't discuss his personal life. Besides, I'm sure he's much too busy to come to the wedding anyway…"

Gaara stood, giving a nod at them. "I will think about it," he replied. "Thank you."

The couple both bowed gratefully towards him as he left.

* * *

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**A/N: **Ahh, hopefully next chapter won't take so long. It's already close to be finished, but also I thought I might include something a little different. I did a short rewrite on the first chapter just to see how much I've improved. Anyway, see you next time! (Also, I kinda wonder how many of you read my other fics? I really hope a lot of people have been enjoying those one-shots I've been writing in that 'One at a Time' entry.)

**About the Names: **

**Ryoichi:** Meh, means 'First son of Ryo'

**Miki:** 'Beautiful tree'


	62. Questioning

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** It's heeeeere! I have a little surprise at the end of the chapter for you all as well!

* * *

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**_Chapter 62: Questioning _**

Gaara stared at the empty basket on the floor of his room. Obviously, Kankuro hadn't disposed of it like he said. The sound of a thud came as Gaara placed his gourd in the usual place. He leaned forward, picking the basket up and wondering what to do with it. With a slight frown, he placed it back in the corner where it had been before, and sat down at the chair by his desk. Books littered the top, ranging with topics – desert survival, native animal species, astronomy, even anatomy. Gaara gave the last book a particular grim look, having remembered studying it as a child to know the names of the bones and muscles he broke with his sand.

There was one strange book amongst the pile, however. Something he had stolen from his sister's room one day while she was out – a romance novel. Gaara had poured over it, again and again, trying to understand what the hell had driven the author to write such things. It had taken him so long to understand why two people would even want to _touch_ each other. Even though his brother's magazines had given him somewhat of an answer, he was still confused. Physical attraction he could understand to an extent – he compared it to seeking out strong opponents for battle. But it was the mental factor he felt like he'd hit a wall at.

Gaara felt his hand clench tightly around the book, picking it up from the pile. Maybe… maybe it was some inexplicable term, or like some ideal dream – unachievable.

He frowned suddenly, remembering the couple he had talked to. They seemed so happy, was this the right time to use that phrase 'so in love'? The characters in Temari's romance novel had used it often. But, there was still something else that made him frown. That woman, she had said something about 'bringing your girlfriend along' and then about a girl… she had meant Kita, hadn't she?

_Girlfriend?_ The term felt so uncomfortable in Gaara's mind that his eyes went to the anatomy book to distract him, though only momentarily. Now he had another term to add to his list of categories, another one which confused him further. He and Kita didn't interact like the characters in the novel. Worst of all, he couldn't even work out why his mind was adding that term to the list. He didn't want that term there, it was too… strange… too… unfamiliar. It almost felt like it should be taboo, an unbreakable law.

Gaara hated adhering to rules though. That had always been one truth about him. Kankuro's words rung in his ears about looking to the future. The future meant growth, expanding one's horizons, or something like that anyway. He felt like he was still stuck when it came to relationships with people however. They weren't some game either. Whatever you did had consequences. And he had sent her away. Gaara slammed the book down on the table. In the back of his mind, he could hear something like laughter – Shukaku was quite amused by the situation and his thoughts. In that moment, Gaara decided to do something he never did normally – speak with the monster.

_Why? _

_Hehhh, well, it's been a long time since we've talked, Gaara… Are you feeling sleepy? _

_No. _

_Ah, so much for wishful thinking. I was hoping for old times, it's been so long since we've done any killing. I enjoyed that match with that Nibi-bitch though, she is quite an opponent. Heh heh… reminds me of old times when we fought. The only female I'd ever bow down to… though she quite enjoyed her "time" with me too. _

Gaara felt repulsed suddenly. Shukaku laughed at it.

_Perhaps, that is why you're so infatuated with Nibi's girl, eh? The two are quite alike, just like you and me. _

_We're nothing alike. _

_You try to run from me, but you always return, boy. You and me… we're inseparable. _

There was only silence from Gaara as Shukaku chuckled. The bijuu paused, as if thinking.

_I will tell you something though, something you've been stubborn about. You desire something from that girl. I see everything you do, and your desire for her. You are disturbed because it feels like the same desire as when you kill people. _

_Kita is a precious person, I want to protect her. _

_So that is the term you will use for her? She is just another precious person, just like everyone else in this wretched village that you've sworn to protect. If that is the term, I should kill her just as I would everyone else. _

_Would you kill me? _

_Now there is a strange question… Did you know I desire you too? The way your mind thinks… If you were a tanuki, I would make you my son. We would have a wonderful time… killing time… _

Gaara felt less than thrilled at the bijuu's words.

_And that girl, she seems like the type that would grow up to become something desired by a lot of men. I've seen looks in her eyes that remind me of you. A perfect killer… She'd make a good prize… _

_Shut up. _

The silence came from Shukaku this time, though only briefly. _You asked me 'why' before. What is it then? 'Why am I so stubborn?', 'Why do I not go back to the way things were?', 'Why is all I desire from that girl is acknowledgement that she loves me?'. _

Gaara's eyes widened.

_You've changed a lot since that blond-haired brat kicked your ass. It was pitiful. All you wanted before was acknowledgement that you had a reason to live. Killing was so much fun, wasn't it? Killing acknowledged your existence. Now what? It's been so long since you killed, and all this time you've been trying so hard to gain acknowledgement from one little girl that she knows what love is, and that she won't leave you lonely again. _

Shukaku gave a chuckle, loving the current power he held over his host.

_That's it, isn't it, Gaara? And now you don't know how to define the girl, so you tried to think of her as a sister, but that didn't do, so you've labelled her as a 'precious person', trying to give some other meaning than what you truly want. 'Looking for something more than just the love of a sibling', is what Nibi said, isn't it? Insightful little minx, that kitty cat. And after that, it was very humorous to see you attack her for calling you a big brother. You two cause quite a lot of entertainment for me. Still, it was funny because for a time you knew what you wanted, but when you didn't receive it, you made yourself believe it wasn't what you were looking for. It's come back full-circle though, hasn't it? The same questions… _

_You talk too much. _

_You don't kill enough. _

_You have no idea… _

_And you do? For someone who has only been alive for a few milliseconds compared to being alive since the universe was born, you are quite cocky. Show some respect to your elders, brat. _

Gaara grumbled to himself. This was the reason he never talked to the perverted old sandbag.

_You should read more of your brother's magazines too,_ said Shukaku, having read his host's mind. _Humans sure are interesting in how they… _

Gaara shut out Shukaku's voice from his head. If there was anything worse than having to listen to bijuu go on about killing, it was having to listen to him go on about… well, Gaara didn't want to remember the last time he'd been stupid enough to stay in on the lecture. His gaze flickered down to the basket again thinking about back then when she had slept in it. He still found it hard to believe at times that the stray cat he'd brought home one day would have affected his life the way it had. After some more thought, he added a new term to the list – Kita was Kita, something unique without a label.

He wandered over to the only small window his room had to stare out. It was dark out now. Kita wouldn't be able to create any of her halos in the darkness.

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

"_Achoo!_"

A groan escaped Nayamu's mouth as she awoke. Her head felt like she'd been in another drinking contest with Tsunade. Someone had sneezed – the sound felt like murder to her sore ears. She squinted as soon as she opened her eyes, a bright light seared her sight. As her eyes adjusted, she almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. Someone stood by the window, their hands close by their body, but holding something. It was glowing, a small circle of pure light that lit up the room with a soft glow

"Sorry, Nayamu-san," muttered the figure, "I thought I would try and practise in here while I came to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine," said the woman. She tucked her hair behind an ear, furrowing her brow that it wasn't clean and tidy. She stared around the room – a hospital room, she realised. A sadness filled her heart suddenly. "Kotou…" she whispered, covering her face with her hands.

The girl at the window stared out at the lights of the village. "I'm not sure what to say…"

Nayamu shook her head, remembering the last moments before she blacked out. "He did the right thing in the end. It was strange… he was trying to protect me… from you."

"I don't blame him then," replied the girl. The cat ears upon her head perked at the sound of a trolley going through the hallway outside. "I wasn't exactly the big hero or anything at the end of the day. I made a lot of things worse."

Although distracted by the light, Nayamu saw how the child's body slumped, forehead touching against the glass. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Kita turned from the glass, the light causing almost-eerie shadows on her face, making the sheepish expression seem bizarre and unworldly. "I… sorta… burned everything on your property to the ground."

A few rooms down, Susumu woke with a start as a scream echoed through the hallway. He tumbled out of bed and into the corridor, running and stumbling until he reached the right room and threw open the door. He gave a groan and put a hand to his forehead, shaking his head in shame.

"YOU DID WHAT?"

"Nayamu-san! I said I'm sorry!"

Kita's arms flailed as the older woman had caught her in a headlock, rubbing her knuckles into the girl's head. "You burned my silverware, expensive dresses, ah, don't tell me you even destroyed my weapon collection? I've been collecting those swords since _I_ was a ninja!"

"I'm going back to bed…" muttered Susumu, closing the door. "Damn girls can work it out themselves." Tiredly, he made his way back to his room. As he entered, the smell of hot tea hit his nose. Arata was placing a tray down on the table by the window. Susumu rubbed the bridge of his nose where his tattoo was. "What are you doing in here? It's already past ten as it is."

"There is always time to slow down, Aitou-san," replied the burgundy-haired teen. He offered a cup out to his team-mate. Susumu accepted it with a grumble. "I wished to know how the mission went."

"Nothing much to tell," said Susumu. "We got attacked by a ghost, got our butts kicked, got saved by a little girl, nearly got _killed_ by the girl, and got saved by a guy with a bad haircut and some power-mad chick with pink hair."

Arata nodded as he listened. "Ah, I see."

Susumu gave a sigh. "Though, it was those leaf things you gave me that saved the day. The girl was going nuts until I shoved it in her face."

"I'm glad they were of help then," said Arata, giving one of those forced smiles Susumu knew only too well. He ignored it and sipped his tea.

"Are there any other reasons you came?" Susumu glanced at his team mate. Him coming like this was never something he did unless it was serious. And asking how a mission went was never something serious in their books.

Arata set his tea down and pulled a scroll out of his pocket. He handed it over. Susumu's brow twitched at the inscriptions on the front – this was an official document for those among the Internal Guard. He unfurled it, eyes travelling down the paper.

"It's been a long time since they held this," he muttered. "They… really expect us to join in when we've got Girly on our team? She's a liability politically if she gets hurt in this thing. Did Katsuro-sensei say anything about that to the council?"

"I believe Yuugino-san was unable to have a say in the matter. Gekkani-san seemed adamant about wanting to see how Mitsukai-san would fare."

Susumu swore under his breath, quickly putting the cup on the table and running back down the hallway. He could still hear signs of fighting inside the room. He slammed the door open and marched in. Arata stood just inside the doorway after he entered, holding his usual smile. Nayamu dropped Kita as she saw the dark look on Susumu's face.

"Are we making too much noise, Susumu-kun?" she asked, surprised by his expression.

He ignored her, pulling Kita up by her collar. He glared at her; the girl stared back in confusion. "Did you ever run into a girl about a foot taller than me with bright orange hair?"

Kita racked her brain, trying to match the description. Her memory settled on something and she nodded. "Yeah, there was some nice girl not too long ago that helped me with my shopping and bought a bunch of clothes for me."

Susumu let go. "Great, just great."

"What's wrong?" asked Kita. She rubbed the top of her head, still sore from Nayamu's 'noogie' attack. The way Susumu was acting was a lot different than his usual grumpiness.

"That '_nice girl_' was Gekkani Ren," growled Susumu.

"Gekkani Ren?" Kita blinked.

He suddenly held a scroll out, pointing to the inscription on it. "She is the _head_ of the Internal Guard Division's council, and she's volunteered us to participate in the Tokkoutai Emono – The Suicide Squad Games."

* * *

**The Hokage's Office… **

"Being personal assistants to the Hokage isn't as much fun as I thought it'd be," muttered Izumo. He sighed, the breeze from his motion ruffling the hair covering his eye. "I don't want to be her booze-mule." He clutched a bag close to his chest, glass clinking quietly inside.

"I'm the one who pays for it. All you do is complain." Kotetsu gave a disgruntled look at partner. "But at least this beats sitting guard duty in the box. I don't know how those internal guard guys put up with the same thing every day."

They reached the top of the stairs. Izumo felt edgy with the bottles in his arms – if Shizune ever caught them doing this, they were in for a world of hurt, and possible poisoning. Tsunade had been quite specific to keep the supply run secret from the younger woman, and if they ever got caught or let on about it, their families wouldn't even recognise them by the end. Either way, they were screwed if they weren't careful. He blinked as Kotetsu grabbed the back of his chuunin jacket. The other man's brows were furrowed as he stared at the doors to the Hokage's office. Something was happening inside, muffled sounds leaked through the cracks. Izumo readjusted the bottles and put his ears closer to the doors.

"You never let me have any fun, Tsunade-sama!"

"I didn't ask you here for fashion advice, Ren. I want to know your reasons for suddenly organising the Tokkoutai Emono on such short notice, and while teams are still recovering from the clash with Suna and Oto. We've still had trouble finding new recruits to build up the proper numbers." There was a pause and the sounds of paper rustling. "We can't really afford to have people being put in hospital for the sake of training at the moment. Why do this all of a sudden?"

"Like I said before, you never let me have any fun! And things are getting way too calm around here lately – people are slacking off. If it means people getting a few cuts and bruises for the sake of being prepared, it'll be worth it. It could also get people interested in becoming new recruits too – show that being part of the internal guard isn't all about boring duty work. A lot of young genin would like to be able to train more."

"Ren, don't run around the question. I can tell when you're lying."

"I'm… curious, okay? It's been far too long since I've seen anything new. I don't see what's wrong with spilling a little blood every now and then to keep people on their toes."

A loud sigh of disapproval seeped through. "You're worse than Anko, Ren! You don't have any concern at all for your fellow shinobi, it's disgusting!"

There was silence for quite a while. From their place behind the doors, the two men were unsure what was going on.

"Look, fine, I'll approve this. I have my conditions, however. Make sure there isn't _too_ much blood spilled, and that those participating get urgent medical care when needed," finally Tsunade spoke.

"Oh everything will be okay, Tsunade-sama. In fact, just to make sure everything goes as smoothly as you request, I'll have a couple old friends help me. That's alright with you, isn't it, boys?"

Izumo and Kotetsu both jumped as the doors opened. A girl with bright orange hair gave a small grin. Though she was considerably shorter than them both, the suspicious look she held was enough to make anyone not get involved.

"Ren-san…" Izumo gulped. The girl's dark brown eyes glanced at him quickly.

"What do you want, Ren?" asked Kotetsu, frowning down at her.

Ren shot him a poisonous look. "You know that's no way to speak to a superior, even if they're younger than you. And here I was about to offer you a bonus on your salary if you volunteered too…"

"We don't have room in the budget for that!" exclaimed Tsunade, slamming her fists on the desk behind the group. Ren ignored her.

"Look, I need a couple of strong, _handsome_, shinobi to help me out," whispered the girl. She glimpsed back, wondering if the Hokage was listening to her trying to butter them up. She pouted slightly, doing her best to give a doe-eyed expression. "All I need is you to sit around, watch some kids fight and then report back that all is fine. _Please?_ I'll throw in a free lunch even."

"Fine, fine, we'll do it." Izumo gave a deep sigh as Kotetsu shrugged. He noticed Tsunade roll her eyes in the background, either at Ren or them, he couldn't tell. Ren seemed oblivious to her look though and gave a victorious grin.

"Great. I'll contact you again soon on what to do." Ren gave a wink and pushed past them. She paused at the doorway, her back still facing them all. "Tsunade-sama, you have nothing to worry about. It will be fine."

Kotetsu closed the doors as she descended the stairs. The Hokage was looking irritated. She put a hand out towards Izumo, indicating for one of the bottles he was carrying. He quickly juggled one free from the pile and passed it on. The woman pulled the plug out angrily, guzzling the sake. She wiped her mouth as she slammed the bottle back down.

"You two _will_ tell me every detail, no matter how much she tries to sweet talk you, or bribe you, or threaten to kill you – she's the type that'd do anything to get to a goal." Tsunade swung around in her chair to face the window. She muttered to herself, "No wonder she got to that position so fast. Give her a while and she'll find anyone's weakness." She paused, grumbling quietly.

"Tsunade-sama, why'd you send us out for sake if you already have some?" demanded Kotetsu, pointing at a basket next to the Hokage's desk. It contained a small collection of sake bottles. A small card was pinned to it with Ren's signature.

The blonde-haired woman spun back around. "I'm not going to touch that poison water! It's dirty and be demeaning for me to drink it. Now, you have your orders, so leave. Go out for lunch, it's on me. In fact, dinner's on me as well. Ha, beat that, Ren, you over-dressed little know-it-all!"

Both of her assistants exchanged worried looks. But a free lunch (and a free dinner) was a free lunch after all.

* * *

* * *

**About the Names: **

**Gekkani Ren:** Gekkani means 'in the moonlight' and Ren is 'Water lily', so her name means 'Water lily in the moonlight'

**A/N: **Thanks for being so patient, everyone. I finally have a big surprise for you. You may remember back a number of chapters ago where I posted a bit from the first draft of the story to show how I had evolved. Now that's it's been a couple years and I've been doing writing at university, I have to wonder how I would have changed it had I started writing it now. I've been sticking with the same style of writing for the sake of this story, but outside I'm sure I've changed a little. So as a treat and a thank you for your support over these years, I present to you something I wish I could call 'Having Never Lived'.

* * *

* * *

"Doctor… where's the doctor? _Get the doctor!_"

Blood dripped with soft 'plipping' sounds, pooling onto the linoleum flooring.

"Hissori-san, you can't stay here. The nurses need to do their work."

"Don't tell me what to do! Minami, she needs me, now!"

The man pounded on the door as it was slid shut in his face. His calls to see his wife went unheard though. He pressed his forehead against the wall, hearing the muffled sounds of people moving, things clattering around, and the slow beep of some unknown medical device. He hardly blinked while he strained to listen to the beeping. The world in the hallway around him was gone – only that faint sound beyond his grasp was what existed. The afternoon sun burned the back of his neck as orange light filled the corridor. It slowly faded to red as he stayed, melded to the wall and listening… listening to what he knew was his wife's heartbeat.

A feeling of dread filled him as the sound eventually changed, becoming a flat tone that wailed endlessly. The man's eyes widened.

"Hissori-san?" The door slid open. A nurse stepped out, her form bathed in red, but not from the sun's lingering light. A metallic stench filled the hallway.

The man turned from his place at the wall, his face a blank look of disbelief.

"You'd… better come in," muttered the nurse.

The walk into the room seemed to take forever, his footsteps were clumsy and mismatched. His hands shook as he held them out. It took him a moment to realise something had been placed into them, a bundled blanket stained with red. He looked down at it, feeling the slightest of weights within it.

He nearly dropped it when he saw it, a tiny face, blood splattered and turning blue.

The thing he was holding was dead. Its head rolled to the side limply, towards the bed where its mother was laying, colour slowly draining from her skin. Tears cut through the mascara she had so carefully put on that morning. Where she had been crying was obvious, the inky lines on her cheeks stained her face.

Her eyes were glassy, and the man knew… she had gone.

He glanced back down at the small creature in his hands. It was so tiny…

"Do something," he whispered in a pleading voice. He held the baby out to the staff at the end of his wife's bed. "Please… do something. You can do something, right? You know medical jutsu? Can't you use it? You have to know something! I don't want this to be it!"

Some of the staff looked at each other, strange expressions on their faces, almost like fear.

"Get the Tsuchikage," muttered one of them. "And the urn."

* * *

Shrill screams tore through the air. It was hard to tell what the sounds were – that of a baby, or some dying animal. The screams were painful to hear.

But the man was smiling, biting back tears. It was alive… no… _she_ was alive – his daughter.

"Kita… That's what she wanted to call you," he said to the tiny form flailing around. He ignored the worried looks of the nurse that stood nearby, the laboured breathing of the Tsuchikage as he tried to regain his stance from doing the ritual. He ignored the chains of inked kanji on the baby's skin, snaking up to become a strange circle on her forehead. He didn't even blink as the dot within it moved around, fixing itself to look up at him before melting into the skin with the rest.

"Hissori, you know what this means, don't you?" asked the Tsuchikage, being helped to a chair by a nurse. He thanked her and took another large breath. When the other man looked at him, he sighed in frustration. "This sealing we've done is an anomaly. Past rituals have never been done this way… with such a subject. The fact it went so well isn't a good sign. You know the Nibi's association with power, don't you?"

Hissori nodded slowly. Behind him, the nurse wrapped the baby in a new blanket. She put the tip of a finger inside the tiny human's hand, feeling it clutch at her roughly. It was hard to believe she was alive now, not after seeing the oxygen-starved face previously.

_And to think, something associated with death actually brought something back to life,_ she thought to herself. _But, what will you become? The last Jinchuuriki was killed by the previous Tsuchikage for disobedience and murdering his team-mates. Even if you're human on the outside, what are you on the inside?_

The baby opened her eyes, staring up at the nurse with such calm it was disturbing.

"Bara-chan."

"Yes, Benkeino-sama?"

"You are to tell those that were present that they are not to speak of this. Under order of death." The Tsuchikage gave a frown. "We only have the option of patience and time to see how fate unfolds on this child."

The woman gave a nod as she handed the baby to her father. "Benkeino-sama, we should let Hissori-san have some time alone with his daughter."

"Yes, yes… I know. Geez, I feel like an old man. Help me up." The Tsuchikage grumbled to himself as Bara assisted him to stumble to the door. He paused and glanced back at the man cradling his new daughter. "Hissori, we are supposed to be guardians for the next generation. We won't allow the past mistakes our village have made with Jinchuuriki to be done again. We can't forget that all children need love to become strong."

The man looked down at the baby in his arms and turned to the window as the door shut behind him.

Bara raised an eyebrow at the stumbling mess of a man beside her. "Benkeino-sama, why exactly did you decide to revive the child? Is it because she's of Mitsukai blood?"

Benkeino shook his head. "A fellow Iwa shinobi should never be denied help, and Hissori is basically family to me. He was one of my first students when I was a jounin, and I watched him grow up. Him _and_ Minami… they became such a close couple while working together. I wasn't surprised when they finally decided to marry. The village will be so sad for losing her… She was one of the best kunoichi I knew – I'd never seen anyone kill with such grace. And yet she always said a prayer for the soul of whoever she killed. She was an angel."

"What of her child then? Do you think she'll become like her mother?"

The Tsuchikage stared down the long hallway. The fluorescent lights began to flicker to life above them as the sun's light vanished behind the mountains. "Maybe, as long as this part of her life is kept a secret – she may grow up never knowing. But…" His voice faded out for a moment.

"But…?" repeated Bara curiously.

"The Nibi is not one to let itself be confined so easily. And I am sure it misses its master. Death has a way of affecting us all."

* * *

**6 years later…**

"I don't want to go, Dad. I wanna stay with you." Purple eyes blinked frantically, tears on verge of spilling over.

It nearly broke Hissori's heart whenever she gave him those eyes. He crouched down next to his daughter, stroking her hair. It always amazed him how much she looked like him – the same colour eyes, same shade of hair – a shade of purple so light it was almost silver. She even had the same stubborn chin.

Still… he always felt something like disappointment when he looked in those eyes. Nobody ever said she had her mother's features. It was always 'she has your eyes', or 'she even smiles the same'. Every time he looked in her eyes, he was never able to find a hint of her mother in them.

The years had been rather calm since Kita's birth. Well, calmer than he had expected. Those who had been involved had been true to their word and only the most minor of rumours were heard. Of course, it was the kind of rumour that was more like an urban myth – bound to spring up every few years or so, but having only speculation behind it. Still, whenever Jinchuuriki or Bijuu were mentioned, a strange quiet would always follow. Iwagakure could still remember the reasons why they were so feared, and the news that Konohagakure had been attacked two years previous to Kita's birth was still unforgettable. The photos in the newspapers of the village burning to the ground while a demonic fox presided in the centre became infamous.

In his mid-twenties now, Hissori felt like he was finally comfortable with his life. Becoming a single parent hadn't been easy, but he had been lucky. The community around him had practically flocked to his aid, giving him everything to clothes to advice on raising a kid. But, of course they wanted to help. The Mitsukai clan had once been called the 'Guardians of the Rock'… at least, until the war with the Land of Fire. He remembered it hadn't been too long after he'd graduated from ninja academy. When he'd answered the door with his grandmother, they had both still been celebrating his official entry into a team. The second they saw the messenger though, their faces fell. His grandmother collapsed from grief. And eventually, a few years later, she too would join the rest of their relatives buried in the graveyard outside of town; the loss had been too much of a burden on her heart.

The only thing that had kept Hissori from a broken heart had been his angel – Minami. He had seen her around the academy, though she was in another class. The classes back then had been so big, trying to graduate as many shinobi as they could and as quickly as possible for the war. When he finally met her on their first day as Team Omega, his heart had stopped for a second. She had smiled at him with such beautiful eyes it was intoxicating. He would never get enough of her.

And everyday he missed her.

Realising he'd been silent for far too long, he gave his daughter a smile and ruffled her hair. "Don't you want to become a ninja? Last night you were talking for hours about it. You want to become strong like your father, right?"

Kita started bawling, clinging to his shirt and refusing to let go. "I wanna stay with you!"

Hissori looked up at the sky and prayed for some kind of intervention. He held onto Kita tightly until her crying turned to quiet whimpering. Suddenly, he had the urge to laugh. This… he should be treasuring this moment.

But he couldn't. In the back of his mind, there was always that feeling there was something wrong – something _awfully _wrong, and with his own child at that. Her face buried in his shoulder, he could only stare at the top of her head and wonder about what was within.

He couldn't admit it, but for the first four years, he had been terrified of his daughter. Even if he loved her, the feeling was still there. It was so hard to explain what was wrong. She had developed normally, crawled, walked, all that stuff. Only her speech had taken the longest. It had taken four years until she had woken up one day and said 'toast please'.

It was there that things began to turn strange. For those four years til that day, there had just seemed to be no life in her eyes. She had never made much of a fuss, and never seemed to be that hungry though her growth was only slightly stunted than others her age. Bara had noted it too with curiosity. It was even stranger when it came to other trips to the hospital. In the multiple times that Kita had hurt herself, the wound had healed quite rapidly. However, there had been times when the wound had just refused to heal, almost as though the body had forgotten it was there.

Or something had forgotten to heal it.

The Nekomata was always there on the edge of Hissori's thoughts.

Could it have been possible? He almost couldn't ask himself the question, but it needed to be asked. For those first four years… had he been raising a demon? He was sure the child he held in his arms now was someone else, but where had she come from? Who was she, and what about the child that had been there?

Kita finally looked up from having her face hidden and sniffed. "I wanna be strong like you. I'll go to ninja school."

* * *

* * *

Well, I hope you all enjoyed that… Until next time!


	63. Proving and Improving

**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

**A/N:** Aaaand we're back!

* * *

**_Chapter 63: Proving and Improving_**

**Three weeks later…**

"Time's nearly up," muttered Kita, staring out the window of the bedroom. She flexed a hand absent-mindedly. Her shoulders had healed up considerably enough, though the physical parts of her training had definitely been slower than she would have hoped. For the most part, she had been contemplating theories and discussing them with Fujita. Surprisingly ironic was that the discussions had been really like talking with another person – Kita had been confused at first about how one could learn new things from your own mind. But talk they did and Kita felt like she had grown a little over the time.

Stretching, she walked out into the kitchen to try and find something edible in the house. There was nothing. Of course Nayamu would have taken everything she could get her hands on… the woman had insisted staying with her until she could find a place of her own. Kita tried not to feel irritated about the situation – after all, she _had _burned down the woman's house. She'd only left the day before, having found a small place of her own to stay in whilst her old house was being rebuilt.

_You don't want to miss breakfast!_ chimed a voice in Kita's head.

"I'll be fine, Fujita," replied the girl as she pulled her jacket on. "We'll go get something to eat now."

* * *

"Oh, it's you."

Kita frowned, looking down at Susumu calmly sipping coffee. He shot her a look of 'whatever' after a moment.

"Sit down already, I hate it when people stand around awkwardly."

The girl grumbled and pulled up a chair opposite. Of all the cafes in the village, she had to pick this one… Kita decided that it was best just to accept fate this morning and pointed roughly at a coffee on the menu when the waitress came over.

"Thought you didn't like coffee," said Susumu, his expression still somewhat blank.

"Thought I'd have a change," muttered Kita in return. Really, she didn't feel in the mood for his attitude today. When the waitress delivered her drink, she stared into it for a while. "You know, you haven't exactly explained what these 'games' are to me yet. Katsuro-sensei tried to explain it to me before, but it turned into jargon."

Susumu placed his empty mug on the table, thinking over it. "I can't tell you the exact details of what takes place. For all I know they might have changed the rules this time. I wouldn't put it past Ren to do that… She was a participant in the last one, I remember, just when I'd come out of the academy."

One of Kita's ears flickered up curiously. Susumu eyed it irritably, knowing she had a question. "Who exactly is this Ren person anyway? I know you said she was the head of the division, but I'm still confused."

The boy grimaced. "She's a natural genius, but she never took the usual paths others made. When everybody in the academy had their sights on becoming genin and going that way, she had already decided she'd go another way. Before she was even out of the academy, she'd signed up for the Internal Guard and had completely overwhelmed the council with her… well, whatever the hell she does. She has a way of leading people into anything. Whatever it is about her, by the end of the games that year, she'd fought off the best the Internal Guard had to offer and had definitely impressed the council. It was only a matter of time before she'd wheedled her way to the top position."

More silence. Kita tapped her fingernail against her cup. "Is that why you dislike her so much?" she asked, not looking up from her drink.

Susumu shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "We were in the same classes for a while at the academy, but she was more 'a friend of a friend'."

"Oh," murmured Kita in response. About to ask something more, she paused. Susumu really didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it. As soon as he'd mentioned the 'friend of a friend' part, the look in his eyes had become more distant. Kita wasn't too sure if she wanted to bring up the subject of this mystery person he'd never mentioned just yet to her. "Would the games be completely different, or do would they have some kind of similar structure?"

"No idea," he shrugged. "The last one had all the teams split into two groups to simulate a battle. When half the original number was left, they'd split them up again and it'd keep dwindling down until it was one on one. Ren won that one, but I dunno if she'll keep the same style this time around. She hates repetition." He frowned in annoyance. "Damn girl can't find an outfit and stick with it; I bet she spends everything she has on clothes."

In other circumstances, it may have been funny, but the tone in his voice was completely flat – different even from his usual tone when he was insulting females – this tone was purely dripping with contempt. Kita tried to stop her ears from perking in curiosity. Truly, Susumu must have _loathed_ this Ren. The thoughts kept ticking through Kita's mind; somehow she felt a lot of the things Susumu said (and didn't say) were connected in some way. She quickly downed the rest of her coffee and fished some money out of her pocket to pay. "I told Hinata-chan I'd meet her for some training this morning, so I'll see you for afternoon duty."

"Yeah, whatever…" muttered the blond. "Damn girls always fussing about too much…"

Kita gave a tiny smile as she left.

* * *

Swinging her legs, Kita waited patiently. She sat atop a pole, eyes trained on the long grass as the wind blew gently. The blades shone a light green, lines racing along the landscape like a hand was passing over it. As bizarre as it was, Kita could not remember anything like this from her childhood. Iwa had always been full of unmoving stones.

_You know you're still a child really, _mused Fujita. _You shouldn't really be acting like some old grandma. _

_I'm not responding to that… _muttered Kita. She didn't really want to think at the moment – all that curiosity she'd had with Susumu that morning had almost shorted her mind out with possibilities. The sun was warm too, she really just felt like curling up and having another sleep.

"Is this your friend? She seems different from how you described her to me."

"Uh…"

Kita blinked lazily and looked down. Hinata was staring up at her. An older boy stood next to her, looking quite similar – family, Kita presumed. Awkwardly, she toppled from the pole, barely righting herself in time to land on her feet. She gave another glance at the young man. There was definitely an air of pride about him, and something critical, as if he was judging her. It was almost the same feeling she had gotten from Tsunade in that meeting to decide if she could stay here. Hinata seemed aware of him too, expecting the judgement. Kita had to stop herself from frowning. She didn't like it, but this definitely wasn't the time to go mouthing off. Hinata seemed much more nervous than usual – hoping she'd make a good impression or something? She looked the boy up and down again. Familiar…

"You were at the exams," stated Kita. She was hesitant about introducing herself, but she knew it was the polite thing to do. "Mitsukai Kita," she said simply with a prompt nod.

"Hyuuga Neji," replied the older boy, nodding as well.

Kita glimpsed at Hinata, the girl tapping her fingers together nervously.

"Um… Neji-nii-san wanted to meet you…" said Hinata quietly. "I told him we were training together."

Neji stared down at the cat-eared girl. She was trying to hide her expressions, but her emotion over this meeting was quite obvious. She was judging him as much as he was her, though she was much more irritated. There was no point hiding his intentions for meeting her. "I had to make sure Hinata-sama was not being adversely affected by your friendship."

Kita allowed herself to frown now. "I guess I don't blame you," she replied in a flat tone. "But I'm very grateful to Hinata-chan for her friendship."

The boy gave another nod and a thoughtful 'hmm'. At least she understood not to be offended by this. Hinata seemed very attached to the younger girl, even if it would be best to separate them, he couldn't help but feel a guilt at hurting Hinata's feelings. He closed his eyes, thinking the situation over. "Kita-chan, I am in no question of your strength after what Hinata-sama told me of your mission together… However, as a Branch member of the Hyuuga clan, I must make sure that Hinata-sama's best interests are in order."

"Neji-nii-san, please, it's alright," spoke up Hinata suddenly. Her tone was full of worry. "Kita-chan is a very good training partner. I… I prefer to train with her than with Hanabi… Please don't tell Otou-sama that though."

The older boy's brow twitched. "If you ask so, Hinata-sama, but what can be offered here that isn't offered training with your family? On the surface it seems as though you are avoiding hard work. The training you do here involves no advancement in your Byakugan techniques."

Hinata gave the gentlest of sighs as she stared at the ground. "That does seem true…"

"I don't think it is," Kita interrupted. She folded her arms, giving a stern look at Hinata's cousin. "We haven't exactly been training long, but every time we have, she hasn't once given up. In fact, it's usually me who ends up asking for a break. It's me who's trying to get to her level really. Hinata-chan's taijutsu is some of the best I've ever seen. I don't want to sound selfish, but please allow me to keep training with her. I think there's still a lot we can learn from each other."

Neji's face was blank, apart from the very occasional movement of his mouth as he thought. He continued to trade his stares between his cousin and the girl he wasn't sure to either to call a monster or just some bizarre-looking kid. "Alright, I will be satisfied as long as one condition is met – Hinata-sama, please spar with me."

Hinata's face went white. "A-a-a spar? Bu-but Neji-nii-san…"

"I do this only as a test," replied Neji sternly, though Hinata's nervousness didn't seem to dissipate. He slid into a stance, ready to take her on.

The girl squeezed her eyes shut, desperately thinking it over. She was dreading this – the suddenness of it, the memories of the previous time she had fought her cousin. Here she was again, with so much pressure on her. Do the spar and prove herself, or back down and risk losing a friend?

But… this wasn't like last time. There were no ill-wishes against her, just concerns.

In a sudden whirl, she grabbed Kita's wrists. "Please, Kita-chan, I don't want you to watch this. I'd hate for you to see me make a mistake. I don't want to disappoint you."

Kita blinked before giving a sigh and a reassuring smile. "Uh, sure, I don't mind. But Hinata-chan, you'll do fine. I have a lot of faith in you."

Hinata blushed in embarrassment, though seeming somewhat more relieved. "Th-thank you… I'll do my best, I promise."

* * *

"You're back?" Susumu raised an eyebrow at Kita as she walked into the café once more. "That was quick."

Kita gave a relaxed shrug. "Didn't think you'd still be here either… Hinata-chan's busy with other matters." She gave a glance out at the window where the street was. The morning rush of people had died down.

"You should train with Arata," said Susumu. He ignored the girl's surprised look. "You haven't trained with him once since you came onto the team. It'll reflect badly on our teamwork, especially in the games if Ren decides to make it that way. She usually knows how people work together and will target their weaknesses."

Kita frowned. "You don't seem to train with him much either," she muttered. "You don't even seem to get along."

Susumu gave a harsh frown of his own. Again, Kita had the feeling that perhaps there was some unsaid reference to a better time. "We get on fine in a battle, Girly, so don't question us about it. You on the other hand, you don't seem to even have an idea of what he's capable of. That'll just hurt your chances of being able to work effectively with him, _and_ it'll give Ren an obvious foothold to exploit against you." The older boy narrowed his eyes. "This is not a fight to just win a contest. You're going to have to prove to Ren you're not to be messed with. Show her you're on an equal level or better."

"And if I don't?" asked Kita.

"I don't know. But it's possible you could be kicked out of the squad, or even Konoha." He paused, his tone becoming hushed. "Though, you'd be lucky if you even got away with that. The Suicide Squads aren't known for having rational people."

_And you sure aren't one of them…_ Kita thought to herself. _This is just another step I need to take in order to show Gaara that I can take care of myself too._

"I'll go with Katusro-sensei on the rounds today so you can go with Arata. You'll owe me though, Girly, he got a new game the other day and he'll be sure to bug the hell out of me about it." Susumu scowled, hating to sound so… _nice_ to her. But he had to face facts – it wasn't just her neck on the line, it was all of them. He was sure Ren would do something in order to bring up the flaws in their teamwork from such little time together. Ren would hate to be that predictable and obvious in her plans, but if there was little the target could do about it, she would run with it regardless. His scowl continued as he watched Kita leave the café. "And anything that works for us, we should run with it too," he muttered.

The waitress sidled up beside him, looking out the doorway where the girl had left. "You should have introduced me," she said grumpily. "I haven't seen you so patient with a girl since Nikkou."

"It's none of your business. She won't be staying long anyway… always been that way, always will be."

The woman glared down at him. "And you'll always speak badly to your mother. Keep it up and you won't be getting free coffee here anymore."

Susumu placed his forehead against the table. Dealing with girls was one thing; but dealing with nagging mothers was a whole other level of annoyance. "Okaa-chan, do me a favour, okay? Don't ever mention Nikkou-chan in public. I think this girl's already suspicious, but…"

"I won't say a word," replied the woman. She gave a sympathetic look. "I know, it still hurts to remember."

"Thanks," he muttered. The image was still there in his mind – a sweet smile he could never forget. He would never be able to see a smile like that again. He grumbled as his mother ruffled his hair.

* * *

The weather had changed quite dramatically since the field that morning. The playful winds had brought with them a new friend, heavy-looking clouds that scattered the sky and created patches of sunlight over the village. Kita's eyes kept darting between the lit patches, curious of the new patchwork that had come with the weather. She realised she had lingered in the same spot for too long and jogged to catch up with Arata, who was uniformly moving along the wall as many years of routine had taught him.

"The village seems to look different every time I'm up here," Kita mentioned, staring up at the sudden sun-patch that had alighted on the rocky face of the Fourth Hokage.

"It's important to appreciate fleeting moments," replied Arata with his usual smile. His eyes never left the path of the wall, however.

Kita gave a crooked frown. Arata didn't seem to be opening up to her anytime soon, it seemed that was a fact. But, she'd just have to do what she could if she was going to be able to survive these games. "Arata-san, about these Suicide Games…" She couldn't be sure from how much his hitai-ate covered his forehead, but she felt like he had frowned for a second there. "Susumu said that our weakness for teamwork could be exploited."

"That is true," replied Arata. "I take it Aitou-san told you more of the event?"

She nodded. "I'm not sure, but although he was telling me how I should be proving myself to this Ren-person, it felt more like he was saying how much he wanted to prove himself to her instead."

"Gekkani-san and Aitou-san have a history," said the older boy simply, choosing not to elaborate on the subject. It also seemed he never gave anything more than very fleeting judgements on people. Did he ever say anything bad about someone? "You wish to train with me, Mitsukai-san?"

Kita blinked. He'd easily guessed what Arata had told her to do. "I want to be effective in this team," she told him. "I don't even know much about how you fight."

Arata stopped abruptly, taking a seat on the wall before Kita had a chance to react. "It is rare for me to say this out loud, but I too have a wish to prove myself to Gekkani-san."

"How come?" asked Kita as she joined him sitting down.

"That is not important," he replied slowly. "It is more important for us to learn from each other. Sparring with one another may reveal some of ourselves to our opponent, but I have always believed simply talking to someone is just as, or perhaps even more, effective. Yuugino-san has told you that you are the 'tank' of this team, right?"

Kita nodded.

"While in essence this is your main 'role', this does not mean you are bound to it. Battles are not as predictable as they seem. If there is anything you can do to even the odds, you do it, even if it means breaking your role." There was a look in his eyes as he stared at the ground, like he'd learnt that lesson the hard way. "Yuugino-san expresses that he thinks of me as being the 'healer' of the team, although I am not fond of the term personally. It implies a level of non-participation."

Kita thought it over. What he said was true. She couldn't quite say it for sure, but it seemed like Arata was politely telling her not to take every single one of their sensei's ideas to heart.

"I do have some minor skills in healing, but I would not say it is enough to treat one of you if you were seriously hurt. I would rather have prevention than cure." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in before continuing. "I think it would be best to say that I try to make things more 'manageable' for both you and Aitou-san, so that we are not caught continuously defending. Yuugino-san would also call us a 'long-range' team, since we depend on having some amount of space in order to attack."

"Susumu's fire attacks… my Hiton shields… and your–?" Kita pouted, still unsure of what he was getting at.

Arata pulled a small bundle from his side pouch and opened it. A number of multi-coloured balls were inside, though she could see some kind of plant material within them.

"They look a lot like what Susumu uses," she commented curiously. "They don't explode, do they?"

"Not quite," replied Arata. Kita thought she heard a hint of amusement in his tone. "…Unless you count 'explosive growth' as one."

Kita stared at him blankly. Wait, had he just made a pun?

"Generations ago, my family was based in the Grass Country," said Arata, seeming like he'd never made the joke in the first place. He'd probably deny it too if she asked. "The country had been in civil war for some time, and during it, the literacy rate dropped severely. My family ran a scribing business and were commissioned to create scrolls for a number of the clans in the village. My grandparents left the country during an attack by Hidden Rain and came to the Tea Country, bringing with them copies of the scrolls they had secretly kept hidden from the clans. They hadn't been well looked-after, but I managed to discern a number of ideas from them which I used to create these."

"I think I've seen something like these before," Kita said thoughtfully. "During the Chuunin Exams that were held there. My team-mate Sora was fighting a guy who threw something and it exploded with some kind of pollen."

"That is the concept," replied Arata in agreement. "Though mine does not require harvesting of the pollen from plants – I don't have the resources for that."

Kita raised an eyebrow curiously. "Then, what happens? You grow an entire plant at once instead?"

Arata nodded, holding up one of the small pods. Carefully, he wriggled a seed free from the fabric casing. He held it in the palm of his hand, covering it gently for a moment before placing it on the ground. Kita watched in awe as a sudden flower shot up from the seed, like it had appeared out of thin air. Before she could take in the beauty of the flower, however, it had wilted and collapsed. Arata stroked the plant, as though apologising for its short life.

"I've yet to find a way to reverse the process," he said quietly. "It would not be such a waste if rather than just die they would go back into hibernation as a seed. Perhaps the clans in the Grass Village have discovered a way, though I can't confirm it. It's ironic that my technique is so similar to Aitou-san's – we end up destroying something in the end."

There was something sad about listening to Arata talk like this. It was only when he brought out the packets that he had started to sound relaxed. Kita knew it was fleeting though. As he packed away his tools and let the dead flower scatter into the wind over the wall, it was like he had placed that part of himself back in there as well. Kita wondered if there was ever a time where he was like that without any vegetation around.

"The main concept for these is to create hindrances for the enemy. If they try to get through them, the plants also have defences of their own – such as poisons which could numb a body part." Arata's voice had gone back to its monotonous drawl. "You'll understand what you need to do as soon as we battle together."

"I hope so," muttered Kita, still disappointed at how quickly he had changed back and forth with his personality. She looked back to where the flower had floated out on the wind. A patch of sunlight was on the training fields. _Hope you did okay, Hinata-chan._

* * *

**A/N: **Phew… I'm glad I finally got to put a little more about Arata in this chapter. I hate keeping a secret for too long. Though there's more to come, that's for sure.

Um, next chapter is going to be a little different hopefully. I don't like sticking to one character for too long either, and Kita's been in the spotlight a bit too much for my liking. So I'm going to get out and about. :D Look forward to it! Oh, and thank you for being so wonderfully patient, much love to you all!

You know, I've been able to do a lot of writing lately, so perhaps I can give you an offer. I guess most of you know about my Naruto one-shots I've put in a collection (the one called 'One at a Time' in my fic list). If anyone has a suggestion they'd perhaps like to see me write, drop a note and give me a challenge. I'll definitely consider them and see what I can do. One little warning though – I'm extremely hopeless with relationship stuff, seriously, haha.

Here's something else I haven't done in a while – theme songs!

Opening: **Morning Musume – Bon Ku! Bon Ku! BOMB GIRL**

Ending: **Abingdon****Boys****School**** – Nephilim**


	64. Important notice

Dear readers of Two Tailed Angel,

I would like to thank you for your dedication and support over the time this fic has been running. Your reviews all inspired me so much to grow to become a better writer. However, as you may have noticed, whilst my newer fics have been using my new style, I have been feeling slowed down by the continuation of this one. I've discussed it with my lovely beta reader Clark, and I've decided to cease work on this fic.

So then I can re-write a new version.

I'm very excited by the prospect to right a lot of the wrongs I did in earlier days, and the chance to create even better characters that I hope you will continue to enjoy. I don't want to quit on Kita's story just yet. Although I'm sad I'm going to have to say good bye to a few characters for a little while, I really want to re-include them in the future.

I hope you will support this decision and follow the new version. Although its working title was "Had I never Lived", the new title shall be "Drop Dead Memoirs" (It sounded less dorky in my head I swear...).

The first chapter will be released soon, so look forward to it!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,

RJ

**UPDATE**

**The rewrite of Two Tailed Angel has now been put up under its new name of 'Had I Never Lived'. You'll find it in my profile. **

**Uh, also, thank you for over 100 000 hits on this fic. Wow...  
**


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